A Surfers Love
by EternalBlaze5
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia,a normal 17 year old girl meets one of the worlds most well known surfers. What if she befriends this pink haired hottie? What struggles lie ahead when a celebrity and a normal girl clash? Will they stay friends or become something more? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note:

Eternal Blaze 5! Here with another story! I just had to write this because I suddenly got the inspiration for it. I know,yell at me because I'm trying to write to many stories at once. I hope you like it,although I don't know if I gave it the best start...but read and tell me when your done,kay?

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_A Surfers Love_

_Chapter 1_

"So,where are we going tomorrow?" I asked my mother Layla as I saw her packing her things.

"Lucy,dear,we're going on a vacation!" she clasped hers hands together and her eyes glittered. "Isn't this wonderful?!"

I laughed nervously. "Are we going to the beach?" I asked a bit wearily. She nodded her head enthusiastically. "We sure are! Oh,it's gonna be so much fun!"

I let out a nervous laugh. "Ma..you know I don't like showing a lot of skin..I'm pretty self conscious about myself."

She zipped up her suitcase and stood up patting me on the shoulder. "Don't worry dear! You look gorgeous and have a wonderful body any man would die for!"

She smiled slyly and I saw a glint in her eye. "I'll even let you pick up a few boys,but don't go to far,okay. I really don't want to be a grandma any time soon."

My cheeks flared. "Ma! Stop teasing!" She just laughed and walked towards the stairs. "Just get packed! We're going wether you like it or not." And with that,she disappeared up the steps.

I let out a long sigh. This is the daily life of Lucy Heartfilia,which is me by the way. Having an hyper active mom isn't always a good thing. But she's fun in her own way. And me. I'm a regular 17 year old girl.I don't really like being around people a lot. I just feel that its always awkward or something. It always depends on who the people are though.

I have a few friends here and there. I wonder,should I invite them?

I walked up to my room grabbing my suitcase and filled it with clothes. It's just gonna be me and my mom. It's better that way isn't it?

...

The next Morning

"Lucy! Come on! It's time to go!" Layla yelled from the bottom of the steps. "Coming!" I yelled back trudging my large suitcase down the steps.

When I reached the bottom I wiped off a few beads of sweat. That was a work out!

"Isn't it a beautiful day today?"Layla said springing out the door and admiring the warmth in the air. "A perfect day to catch some rays!"

I agreed with her walking out the door. Then I threw my suitcase into the back seat of our car. Ma did the same.

"Hop in Lu-tan! Vacation time!" she scooted over into the drivers seat as I did the passenger seat. The car roared to life and now we were on our way to our resort that sat on the beach.

During the whole ride my mom had the radio blasting and was singing old songs from Michael Jackson to Price and Elvis. It was pure torture especially because of the fact my mom couldn't sing.

The ride was about 6 hours away. Around the 2nd hour,I decided to catch some Z's. I closed my eyes and before I knew it,my consciousness had slipped away.

...

I woke up to the chirps of seagulls,the crashing of waves against the shore,and could smell the fresh ocean water.

I immediately perked up,and my mom was putting on her sun glasses and hat. She had her bathing suit in hand. "Get your bathing suit,Lu Lu! We're heading straight to the beach!"

I rubbed my eyes and lazily got out the car. Digging in my suitcase,I grabbed out my swimming suit, towel and goggles,throwing them over my shoulder.

We headed into a nearby bathroom, and I quickly changed,throwing my hair up into a ponytail. I slung my goggles around my neck and tucked my towel under my arm.

I stepped out the bathroom stall and looked into the mirror. I smiled contently. Just the way I like it. I had on a pink one piece swimming suit with black polka dots on it,and some black swimming shorts.

I don't like to show a lot of skin,remember? I hate when guys stare at me,because of my oversized proportions. Big breasts,wide hips,a skinny waist. All that draws a lot of attention to you and I try to keep it at a minimum.

My mom had on a green bikini. She had on her hat and sunglasses too.

"Time to let loose and relax!" she yelled. And with that,we walked out into the evening sunlight,being welcomed by the hot sand that sunk in between your toes when you walked.

We walked further onto the sand. "I'll be setting up our area here." Layla said propping up her umbrella.

"Okay." I called back. I looked around. Now what should I do? Just play around in the sand or something?

I stared into the distance and I saw a huge crowd of people. Hmm,wonder what's happening over there?

I walked closer to the group of people keeping my eyes on them,and before I knew it I had collided with something and fell onto the ground.

I wiped my butt. "Oh,I'm sorr-"

As I looked up I was at a loss for words. Their was a holy being standing in front of me. A tanned,pink haired male in orange swimming shorts. With rippling muscles and toned abs and features.

"Uh-Umm.." I stuttered.

He looked down at me worriedly. "I'm sorry. Are you alright?" he bent a hand down and I reached for it. He started pulling me up. "Than-"

And before I knew it,I had toppled down back onto the ground. "Ouch!" I yelled out in pain.

I glared up at him. "What was that for?"I yelled

He slightly chuckled. "Oh,sorry my hand must have slipped."

I stood up. "Yeah,right." Just as I was walking away I felt a hand grasp my arm. "What do you want? You better let go of me before I start screaming." I turned around and looked at him,almost melting under his gaze. Why was this man so hot?!

He scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry for what I did earlier. I just..couldn't help myself y'know?"

I turned around completely looking at him. "Did you need me for something?"I asked him.

"Actually,I do. Come with me for a sec." He started pulling me somewhere isolated. Panic started to rise within me. Was this man a rapist, a pervert?

"Hey,where are you taking me?!" I yelled out struggling to get out his grasp. He kept silent,but held an iron grip on my arm.

We neared a shed and ran into it. He locked the door behind us. I backed up against the wall. "W-What do you want from me?" I asked my voice trembling.

"I don't have any money! Please don't rape me!" I begged and pleaded.

He sent me a sympathetic look. "Calm down." He placed a hand on my shoulder and for some reason I felt at ease. I stared into his beautiful green eyes which seemed to sparkle whenever he laughed.

"I'm not gonna hurt you or rape you or anything." He told me in a quiet voice.

"Then...what do you want from me?" I asked weakly.

He chuckled quietly. "This may sound stupid,but...I wanted someone to talk to."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Someone to talk to?" He nodded his head on conformation. "You don't know who I am,do you?"

I shook my head signaling I didnt know. "Why would I know you anyways? Have we met before or something?"

"My names Natsu Dragneel...and I'm one of the most well known surfers in the country. I was just trying to get away from all the chaos,but then...I bumped into you and it seemed that you didn't know me,so I just had to talk to you. Sorry if I scared you."

My mouth hung agape. I must be dreaming. I mean one of the most well known surfers in the country is talking to me? So that basically mean he's a celebrity!

"So..your talking to me—a drab plain old girl,and your a celebrity?" I asked

He laughed. "Well,I am still a teenager. So its not that weird to talk to someone around your age,is it? Just because I know how to surf doesn't mean I'm a super human being. It's just...been a long time since I've actually had a normal conversation with someone without them trying to pummel me down."

I nodded in understandment. "Ah,okay,I see." part of me was still thinking it was a dream while the other half knew this was reality.

"So,what is it you wanna talk about?" I asked him

"Uh,I don't know. Why don't you pick something to talk about?" He replied. I sighed. He kidnaps me and expects me to do all the talking? I should be mad,but I was actually the opposite.

I saw him staring at me again and I let out yet another sigh."You mind if I talk about my mom?"

He nodded his head. "Not at all!" He flashed me a grin. "By the way,what's your name?"

"Its Lucy Heartfilia."I flashed him a warm smile. I felt incredibly comfortable around him even though he was a complete stranger.

"So.." I started. He took a seat beside me as I begin my rant. "My mom is just so hyper and she acts like a little girl! She's always making me do embarrassing things,or making me dress up and stuff!"

Natsu laughed as I continued to tell him stories about when I was little. When I finished he let out a long hearty laugh. "Your mom sure does sound fun! I hope I can meet her one day."

I let out a small giggle. "You might one day." His eyes lit up. "Does that mean we get to see each other again?"

I blushed and slightly laughed at his cuteness. "Sure,why not?"

He cheered and fist pumped the air.

"So,what does it feel like to be famous?" I asked rather curious.

He put his hand on his chin and furrowed his eyebrows. "It's not fun at all. You always have to go to interviews,you never get any free time,and they always have this super long schedule planned put for you!" He stretched his hands out wide to emphasize the fact.

"That sounds like fun though. I wish I was a celebrity. Im always so bored and have so much time on my hands!" I yelled exasperated

Natsu looked down and the smile fell from his features. "Your lucky you can have free time and go anywhere you want to. Once your famous,you can't go anywhere publicly without people chasing you down or the paparazzi following you. I've always wished that I just had a normal life."

I looked at him sadly, his dull mood bringing mines down too. "Why are you still doing this,then?"

He sighed and a small smile spread across his face. "Because I love to surf. My dad taught me when I was little and ever since then I've fallen in love with it. Surfing is also one of the things I hold precious to me. Since, it's one of the things I can actually call a momento from him."

I turned my head to the side. "What's the other one?"

He held up his arm as I stared at him intently. "This is also something I got from him. I wear it all the time and never take it off. I just don't feel complete without it."

I stared at his arm and he had a silver bracelet rapped around his wrist. It had a small chain hanging off of it and on the chain was a picture of a white striped muffler.

He sighed and clutched his knees to his chest. "I never expected to get famous or anything. I surfed,joined competitions from time to time and before I knew it,I was well known.

As I stared at him I couldn't help but feel saddened. I reached over and wrapped my arms around him. He let out a slight gasp,and I pulled away.

"What was that for?" He asked a small blush on his cheeks.

I just smiled. "You looked like you needed a hug."

He smiled back and stood up. "It's getting pretty late. We should head back now."

I nodded and stood up to. We walked onto the beach and just as we were about to part ways he called out to me.

I looked back and he had a wide grin etched across his face. "We're having a surfing competition on the beach tomorrow. I'll see you there. Bye Lucy!" He waved and then ran off.

As I stared at his retreating figure,I couldn't help but feel a small pang of happiness in my chest.

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A/N Waaah...so I kinda got this idea from a show called Mermaid Melody,that I watched quite a while ago,but I had the inspiration so I just had to write it! And I might not update this as quickly as I usually would because I have 2 other stories which are currently my top priority right now.

Please review,follow,and fav!


	2. Chapter 2

I stood there staring ahead dumbfoundedly as I watched Natsu run away in the distance. Did he really just invite me to one of his surfing competitions? I felt my face heat up. Why was I so happy anyways? It was just a man I just met today!  
I sighed. I decided to head back to where my mom Layla was, after all there was no point to overthink things.

...

I laid in my bed. We had already arrived in our hotel room and unpacked everything. My room was actually pretty decent. It had a queen sized bed in the center, and the rest was actually pretty drab. It had a small dresser and the main color theme was a baby blue. Not really my cup of tea,but hey,how much better can it get?

I laid down in my bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Natsu Dragneel,huh?" I mumbled. I reached over and grabbed my phone,flipping it onto the internet. I typed in his name to at least see and know some things about him. I searched through a few articles and one particularly caught my eye.

_Natsu Dragneel, Winner of the INA World Surfing Games_

My eyes widened in shock. He was the winner? With curiosity getting the best of me,I decided to read more.

_With more than 100 contenders and ten preliminary rounds,it was quite a fierce competition. In each of those ten rounds Dragneel never went any lower than the top three. On the last round,out of the ten surfers who were there,Dragneel came out on top winning an over two foot tall World Surfing Trophy! It was no easy feat either. Dragneel and Fullbuster; the second place winner; battled fiercely against California's fierce and tall waves._

Wow,Natsu was really something wasn't he? And I knew this guy! Over the excitement,I decided to text my best friend,Levy

_Omg,Levy you won't believe this! I just became friends with a celebrity! :))) XD_

_-Lucy_

Isent the text and waited for a reply. A few seconds later,my phone buzzed.

_Kyaaaaa! You did?! For real?! Who was it?_

_-Levy_

I stared at my phone excitedly.

_It's Nats-_

Something stopped me in my tracks. Should I really let Levy know this? Or should I keep it a secret for a while longer? I don't know why,but somewhere in the back of my head was nagging me not to tell anyone until I asked Natsu first. I shrugged.

_I met Justin Timberlake! XD XD_

_-Lucy_

_Haha,very funny. Like I'd believe that,Lu-chan! See you another time,me and Gajeel are actually pretty busy tight now._

_-Levy_

I scrunched up my face. I didn't even wanna think about what they were doing. I hopped out the bed and decided to start on my nightly routine; brush my teeth,take a shower, etc, etc.

Once I was done I snuggled under the warm covers of my bed as anticipation built up awaiting for the next day to come.

And somehow...I finally got to sleep.

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The Next Day

I walked on to the beach in a pair of white, loose shorts that stopped just above my knees. I also had on a loose pink t-shirt that had Shirahima Beach engraved onto it in white letters. After all,that was the beach we were at.

Hmm,he said there was a surfing competition today,didn't he? I squinted into the distance and faintly,faintly I could see a dot of black in the distance.

With that dot leading me, I ran to it and as I got closer that dot turned into a huge swarm of people,till I was in the midst of it.

I shielded a hand over my eyes to dodge the sun's blinding rays. All I saw where people in swimsuits and stuff and none of those people were Natsu!

I was starting to get mad since he wasn't here as I stomped around in search for him. Where would surfers be right now?

I saw a large tent and I literaly slapped myself in the face. How could I miss something so large? There was a long line waiting to get inside. Gosh it was gonna take forever to get in there!

After standing in line for about 15 minutes, I suddenly heard a lot of girls squealing. I plugged my ears and tried to ignore it,but the screams were just so deafingly loud I decided to see what all the commotion was about.

My eyes widened in shock as I stared at the figure walking down the long line. It was Natsu! He had bodygaurds surrounding him pushing girls away from him so no one could touch him. It looked like he was trying to find someone with the way his hands were cupped around his mouth and it looked like he was yelling something.

Lots of people where reaching there hands out to him screaming out his name. He stopped for a moment and sent a few girls bright smiles and touched some of there hands. They fainted on the spot.

As he neared my part of the line I could hear him more clearly.

"..Cy!"

..Ucy!"

"Lucy!"

"Lucy, where are you?!"

He was looking for me? Deciding I should respond,I started waving my hands around wildly. "Natsuu! I'm over here!" I yelled out.

He stopped for a moment and then looked around. "Lucy,is that you?" He yelled out searching back and forth.

I started jumping up and down waving my hands in front of my face. I should have been embarrassed but for some reason I wasnt the slightest.

"Natsu!" Natsu,I'm right here!"

He turned his head once more and his eyes immediately brightened up,a wide smile etched across his face. He started running over to me,his body gaurds following close behind.

When he finally made it up to me, he enveloped me in a huge bear hug taking the breath out of me. Suddenly,all the squeals of the girls stopped and they turned into angry snarls.

"Get away from Natsu-sama!"

"Hey,who does this bitch think she is?!"

"Get the fuck away from him you,slut!"

"Natsu-sama,who is this girl?!"

All of these hurtful things were streaming into my ears and I felt like beating up all of these girls. Why did these people hate me so much over one little hug?

Natsu sent a glare at them. Something I thought I'd never see on his face. They all shut up that instant.

Taking advantage of the silence,I decided to give them a piece of my mind. "You all are calling me a bitch and a slut?! Pitiful! You're just desperate little girls that need to get a life! Geez,Natsu would never love people like you." I scoffed and grabbed Natsu's arm pulling him away.

His eyes were widened in shock,before a loud laugh escaped his lips. "Wow,Lucy! Never seen a girl do that before." He chuckled in amusement.

I was about to respond to him,but large arms wrapped around me and pulled me away from him. "Hey let go of me! I yelled desperately clawing at there arms. "I'm with Natsu!"

One of them chuckled. "That's what all his little fangirls say."

"She's with me." Natsu yelled trudging over to us. They immediately let go and I rotated my shoulders a bit to rid myself of the sore muscles.

"Oh,Natsu. Got you a girl now? Cool!" He made this weird sign with his fingers and he looked slightly drunk.

"Aye,Natsu. Good job!" The other stuck his tongue out which was rather weird. They didn't seem like the bodyguard type at all.

I saw a faint blush color Natsu's cheeks. "Bixlow,Bacchus~" He wined to both of them. "She's not my girl,she's just a friend."

"A friend?" I asked

He grinned widely. "Yeah,Lucy. Your my friend."

"Oh." Was all I could say.

"A friend...Blonde hair...Pretty face..." Bacchus muttered, then he snapped his fingers in realization. "This is that chick you were blabb-"

Natsu quickly covered up Bacchus's mouth,and looked rather flustered. "Bacchus,stop saying stupid things!" He yelled

I sat there unknowing of anything,but then a smirk formed on my face as I crossed my arms. "What were you saying about me Natsu?" I asked slyly.

He froze for a second and then sighed. "I just said I made a friend,okay?!"

I snickered. "Yeah,right."

"Bixlow,Bacchus,you can go back now." Natsu said pointing to the tent. They just shrugged their shoulders and left us two alone.

In the silence,Natsu looked at me for the first time in a while now. "Just forget they said anything,okay? They always tease me like that."

I nodded my head but still had my suspicions.

_"All Surfers Competing in the Annual Shirahima Surfing Competion,please find your boards and come up to the front!" _A man's voice yelled through the speaker.

"Well,that's my cue!" He then sent me a soft smile. "Make sure to cheer for me kay? I'll make sure to win!" And with that,he ran off closer to the shore.

I felt my cheeks heat up a bit from the smile he sent me. I couldn't help but wish for the best. I just know he's gonna win!

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**Please review,follow,and fav! They really keep the chters coming and help to motivate me!**


	3. Time To Compete

Sorry the update took so long! I'm kinda going through some harsh circumstances right now...

Enjoy!

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_A Surfer's Love_

_Chapter 3_

_"We're down to the last 2 contenders!_" the man shouted into the speakers. _"Who will win? Will it be Sting Eucliffe? Or Natsu Dragneel?" They're both formidable surfers who have earned a great reputation in the sport! Why dont we speak to them and see what they're thinking?"_

I watched the speakerman walk over to Sting and Natsu who were both stretching their muscles. When he reached them he shoved the microphone into Sting's face,the cameramen following close behind.

"Sting Eucliffe. Do you think you will be winning today's competition?" Sting stopped what he was doing and a smug smile spread across his face as he stared at the camera.

"Well...you see,its not really a matter of thinking,its more like I _know _I'm gonna win. I'm not really gonna say my surfing skills are unbeatable,but they're definitely something."

I smacked my lips. _What a show off._

The speaker nodded his head. " I see your pretty confident,Eucliffe. Lets see what Natsu Dragneel has to say." He walked over to Natsu and shoved the microphone in is face. "Dragneel,do you feel that your gonna win this?"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "What happens,happens. But...I did make a promise to someone,and I told them I would definitely win this. But,even if I do lose..as long as I tried my best and had fun,then I'll be happy."

Natsu smiled widely at the camera and waved at the girl spectators. They all squealed in delight. I was actually feeling pretty good too. I mean he was talking about _me_. Me,Lucy Heartfilia. On national t.v.! I didnt know if I should be anxious or screaming with joy. But I really liked what Natsu said.

To be honest,I dont really care if he wins or not. Like he said,as long as he had fun and tried his best,I'll be happy for him. I mean,he dosent just have to win for me.

_"Sting Eucliffe is up! Now its time for him to show off his moves!" _The speakerman shouted into the microphone. I'm guessing its starting now.

Sting takes his board and paddles through the water. When a wave comes,he stands on his board to steady himself. Then he rides on top of the waves and swerves through it,keeping balance. Causing a big dip to appear.

_"Ohhh! And Sting Eucliffe has made a Bottom Turn!"_

He glides around in the wave,holding himself steady. Then all of a sudden,the wave starts to get bigger and bigger till its curving over him so that he's in a thing that looks like a tunnel._  
_

_"Eucliffe has just went into Barrel! Will he bail or decide to follow through the wave?" _The speakerman shouts

Stind disappeared into the tunnel,which I had just found out was called a "barrel". A few seconds later,he rode out gripping the end of his board. He sailed back to shore and and stepped off his surfboard.

He walked onto the sand towards Natsu. "Beat that." He whispered in his ear. " I saw Natsu smirk.

The judges tallied up Sting's performance points. _"Sting Eucliffe gets a 8.3! Natsu Dragneel is up next!"_

Natsu turned around briefly and I sent him a thumbs up. He grinned at me and returned the gesture. Then he grabbed his board and petaled into the water. As soon as a wave came,he steadied himself on his board. I crossed my fingers tightly. This was nerve wracking!

He began to swerve on the wave and made a sharp turn making a deep rift in the water. It was similiar to what Sting did.

_"Natsu Dragneel has made a Bottom Turn!"_

Natsu rides up to the top of the wave,grabs the front end of his board,and flips into the air landng back into the water,gracefully.

_"We all gotta say that was pretty cool!"_ The speakerman shouted. Everyone started clapping and cheering in agreement. Another barrel wave forms and Natsu disappears from sight. We sit there in silence as we wait a few seconds and Natsu still dosent come out.

_"Uh,oh! Where has Dragneel went? The wave is about to break and there is still no sign of him!"_

I started to get scared. Where was he? I stared as the opening got smaller and smaller. I cupped my hands around my mouth.

"Natsu,I know you can win!" I shouted. "I believe in you!"

A millisecond before the wave crashes down,I see a head of pink hair that just barely makes it through the small gap that was left of the wave.

He rides back down swerving to make deep gashes in the water's surface.

_"Dragneel carves the waves and does the Drop-In! How cool is that?" _The speakerman oos and awes.

Natsu makes his way back to shore,drenched in water,panting heavily. He walks over to the bench they set up for all the surfers to rest on.

My fingers were still crossed because I was really hoping that he won. After about 20 minutes,I hear a man clear his throat into the speakerphone.

_"After much debate with the judges we have decided on the winner of the Annual Shirahima Surfing Competition!"_

Alot of applauding is heard throughout the beach. _"And the winner is..._

_Natsu Drganeel! He comes out with the highest score of 8.7!"_

I raised my fists up into the air and cheered doing a victory dance. Everyone applauded. Some surfers congratulated Natsu or shook his hands.

Sting threw down his surfboard and stomped off. He was obviously mad and not happy with the results. _What a sore loser.  
_

One of the judges walked over to Natsu and placed a gold medal over his neck,then congratulated and shook hands with him. The part that hung around his neck was blue with some kind of white writing on it. He turned to me and smiled. I thought of this as my cue and ran over to him.

"Wow! That was so cool,Natsu!" I gushed. "I had no idea you could surf so well!" I eyed him in amazement,smiling widely.

He slightly blushed and scratched the back of his head. "It's not really a big deal. I mean I've been surfing since I was little."

Then he looked down at me and smiled widely. "I told you I would win, didnt I?" I laughed lightly. "You sure did."

He then placed his hand on his chin and looked up thoughtfully. "Do I get anything for winning this?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "You go a medal didnt you?"

I saw a smirk ease it's way onto his face."I mean... from you."

My eyes widened in shock. "Something from me?" He nodded his head and had a weird smile on his face. "Uh-huh."

I narrowed my eyes a bit at him. "Like what?"

"How about we hang out tomorrow? Just me and you."

* * *

Please review, follow,and fav! It'll help me to update quicker and really pump me with motivation and happiness!


	4. Going Out

**Whoo! Finally got the next chapter out! Hope you guys like it. It's the longest one yet,even though their are only** **4 chapters...**

* * *

_A Surfers Love_

_Chapter 4_

"How about we hang out tomorrow? Just me and you." Natsu said. I put my index finger on my chin and thought. "Yeah,guess we could."

His smile widened. "Yay!" He cheered. "But...first I've got to do something. Follow me." I just nodded my head, deciding not to question him,and we headed across the beach towards the tent he was in before.

When we reached it,he looked back at me. "Wait,here for a sec,kay Lucy?" "Okay." I replied. Then he disappeared into the tent. While I waited,I started humming a familiar tune as I stared into the ocean.

Lost in my tunes,I didn't hear the footsteps approaching me and I also didn't feel the hand lay on my shoulder.

"Hey,sexy. Wanna come with me somewhere?" I jumped back in surprise,or rather,tried to,but the hand kept me in place. I slowly bought my eyes up to meet the face of who the hand belonged to. It was...

Sting Eucliffe!

A drop of sweat ran down my face as I stared into his deep blue eyes. I didn't feel very comfortable around this man.

"Uh,sorry. Do you need me for something?" I asked. Sting smirked. "I asked if you wanted to go someplace with me."

I narrowed my eyes. Is he trying to pick me up? I looked around nervously. "No thank you. I'm actually waiting for someone."

Sting's smirk turned into a frown. "Well they can wait for you to come back. Your coming with me." He started to walk away grabbing my arm and pulling me with him. I yanked and tried to pull my hand out of his grasp.

"Let go of me! I don't want to go anywhere with you!" I yelled. Sting looked back at me irritated. "Come on, I promise it'll be fun. You'll see. You'll have the time of your life!"

He took a strand of my hair and lifted it up to his face. "You might even get something special from me—the Great Eucliffe,if you be a good girl."

I snorted in disgust. This guy is so full of himself! "I don't want anything special from you,you yellow crayon!"

A gasp escaped from Sting's lips as he looked a bit taken back. "Yellow...crayon..."he murmured. "This girl just called me,Sting Eucliffe,a yellow crayon..."

"Yellow crayons don't have muscles and abs...and they don't look sexy!" He continued to mumble things to himself.

This dude needs a serious reality his grip had loosened on my hand,I snatched it away.

"Lucy!" I turned around to see Natsu running towards me. Geez,how far had this guy dragged me?

When Natsu arrived,I noticed he had on a pair of sunglasses. "Sorry it took so long. I had to convince Bacchus and Bixlow to let me go out by myself. And they said I had to wear these."' He pointed towards the glasses on his face.

Then he raised his head up farther and I noticed he was looking at Sting,who was mumbling to himself. He walked towards him.

"Oi,Sting! Nice Surfing." Natsu exclaimed reaching out a hand to pat him on the back. Sting dodged away as quick as lightning and glared at Natsu.

"Don't touch me. Only girls can touch last time I checked,your a guy!" Then he stomped off. "Geez,I'm not gay. No,Sting Eucliffe is not gay!"he declared

Natsu stared as he walked away,then he looked down at me. "Geez,what's his problem?" I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. He's probably got some rare contagious disease so let's stay away from him."

Me and Natsu both chuckled at that. Then, Natsu started walking towards the shops that lined the beach. "Where are you going?" I called after him. He looked at me like I had asked the stupidest question in the world. "We're suppose to be hanging out,remember?"

"But I thought you said tomorrow!" I exclaimed. "Well,the day is still new,so I decided,why wait?"

I just sighed. But something caught my eye and was really bothering me. And distracting me. Alot. "Are you really just gonna keep your wetsuit on?" I asked. "He had on a skin tight,one piece wetsuit,that really defined his muscles.

He stopped in his tracks. "Oh! I almost forgot!"

He changed his course of direction and started walking towards a big red tent. The last one being blue. He turned around and smirked at me. "Thanks for the reminder. I mean I already look hot enough,what do you think the girls would do if I walked around in a skin tight suit all day?"

I smacked my lips. "Quite the big shot aren't you?" He shrugged his shoulders. "I can be when I want to. But usually I'm like this!" He crossed his eyes and made a fish face. Giggles started to erupt from my throat.

"Y'know,your really funny Natsu." He smiled. "I know,right?" I started to laugh even harder. "Weren't you suppose to say thank you?"

He laughed, and for some reason I felt my chest flutter. His laugh sounded so warm and inviting...

"Well,my manners are a bit off,so I wouldn't know."

...

Natsu came out of the tent in a orange shirt,a pair of khakis and some flip flops. I eyed him and looked him up and down. He raised and eyebrow. "Checking me out?"

I blushed and nodded my head furiously. "No way! I was just..."

"Just what?" Natsu asked suspiciously.

"I was just wondering why you wear orange so much."

"Why I wear orange?" He asked. I nodded my head. "Yeah,yesterday you were wearing orange swimming trunks,you have a orange and black wetsuit,and your wearing a orange shirt today."

He looked at me like I had spouted some nonsense. "Cause orange is my favorite color,duh!" I took my fist and bunked it across his head. "Ouch,what was that for?!" He took his hand and rubbed it on the spot I hit. "That's for being a smartass."

"Well,it was pretty obvious..." he replied. Then his eyes widened and he held his arms in front of his face. "Don't hit me again,that hurts!"

I smiled sweetly at him. "Then be quiet and all will be good."

...

"So why are you wearing those sunglasses?" I asked him. "It's a disguise. So know one will chase after me and stuff."

"It's pretty obvious who you are even with the sunglasses on." He just laughed. "You won't believe how clueless people are these days."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the line of shops,_again_. "Why do you keep pulling me places?" I yelled agains the wind.

He let out a light laugh. "Cause it's really fun!"

We made it into the small square and stopped to glance around. I saw a whole bunch of girls walking around in just bikinis that were quite revealing. Such indecency... And the guys,WHOA,the guys. Their were tons of them walking around in just swimming trunks. Some of them made me want to throw up and others...gosh those abs. And those biceps...I just wanted to touch them!

Guess you could say I'm a real muscle freak,sometimes I just can't control myself and this place was really tempting me...

"Having fun ogling all the guys?" Natsu said with a slight attitude crossing his arms. I looked at him slightly amused. "And what if I am? Do you have a problem with it?"

"And what if I do?" He shot back. I shot him back a glare. "Then,get over it. I'm not your girlfriend or anything so I can look at as many guys as I want to."

Natsu looked a bit taken back as he stared at me,but then he quickly recomposed himself. "Whatever. Come on,I wanna get me a new surfboard."

He started walking towards some kind of store,and I followed behind him. We walked in and he started looking at all the different boards they had. His face was ran over with concentration.

"Excuse me,sir. What kind of board are you looking for?" A lady came up and asked him. She must have been an employee since she had the name of the store on her shirt.

Natsu turned to look at her with a slightly surprised look on his face. "Do you have any Hydroflex boards in here? Preferably orange or red?"

I scrunched up my eyebrows in confusion. Hyrdoflex? They had flexible surfboards?

"Yes,right this way." The lady said leading him to the back. I noticed she was walking considerable close to him,her hands slightly brushing his. I narrowed my eyes.

We stopped in front of a wide variety of boards,but they didn't look very flexible...

"This is what we have in stock,sir. I hope you find one to your liking." Natsu nodded his head. "Thanks."

He continued to look at the boards as he went up and down the wall. One thing was still nagging me.

Why was this lady still here and why was she staring at Natsu so god dang much? I got a better look at her face and noticed it was...red. She was blushing! And she was staring at him so hard..I never thought I would say this,but this lady is a pervert!

I walked up to her. "Um,you can go now. I'll help him pick out a board." My voice said a bit strained. She looked at me. "Who are you?" She said with a hint of anger. "Who I am doesn't concern you. Just know that I'm with him." I said pointing to Natsu."He invited me,personally." I added with a bit of smugness.

"Oh." She said. "Then just ring if you need any help." She gave a fake smile and stifly walked away. I smirked and strode over to Natsu. He continued to stare at the boards,but he was looking at one in particular. "What was that all about?" He asked

I shrugged. "It was nothing. But seriously Natsu. You should be more suspicious. There are a lot of perverts walking around here..."

He laughed. "Perverts? You always seem to amuse me,Lucy!" He swung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him,I slightly blushed at the contact. "So,which one of these should I get?" He pointed to two boards.

One was just plain old orange,and the other was white with a huge red dragon on it.

I pointed. "Get this one. It looks more interesting." He nodded his head. "The white one? Hmm,good choice." Unlatching his arm from my shoulders,he picked it up off the rack,and started carrying it to the counter.

"So why is it called Hydroflex? It doesn't look very flexible to me." I asked him. He let out a light chuckle. "That's just what the brand that made it is called. It dosent really bend,silly."

I blushed in embarrassment. "Oh." He put his board over the counter and the same lady that I told off a few minutes ago was standing right there. "I see you've picked out a board?"

Natsu nodded and smiled widely. "Sure did. Thanks by the way." The lady blushed and looked down nervously. "Well,it's my job so...it was nothing."

"I helped him pick it out,by the way." I chimed in. The lady sent a quick glare at me,as she rung up the board. "That will be $234.58,sir." Natsu pulled out his wallet and swiped his debit card. I was still a bit shocked at the price. Why was it so expensive?!

"Thank you,and I hope you come again." Natsu just nodded his head and grabbed his surfboard. Then we started walking out.

"Why is that so expensive?!" I asked him. "That's a pretty normal price if you want a nice surfboard. It's no big deal." He said shrugging his shoulders with a slightly bored expression on his face.

"You _are_ 17,right? What 17 year old has that kind of money to spend on a surfboard?! I'd understand if it was a iPhone or something,but a board?" I asked in disbelief.

He looked at me slightly agitated. "Well,I am a surfer,Lucy. So it's not just _some board. _Having a good board is a top priority in a surfer's life. And just to be exact,I'm 18."

"17,18,just a one year difference." I mumbled,crossing my arms and huffing. We walked through the small line of shops,and I heard my stomach growl. My eyes widened in surprise,and I felt my face starting to get hot.

Natsu looked at me and smiled,laughing. "If your hungry,why didn't you just say so?"

I swiped my head the other way and slightly pouted. He stopped and turned around towards me. Then he patted my head lightly. "You can be so cute at times,y'know?"

I felt my face growing hotter,but this time,

I wasn't so sure if it was from embarrassment.

* * *

...

We sat down,and started eating our food. We were currently in a super packed McDonalds. The lines were almost a mile long and we had to wait about 30 minutes just to get our food. It was just as hard finding a seat.

Natsu had ordered about 8 cheeseburgers, 5 drinks,and about 6 fries. Making my Quarter Pounder Combo Meal look small. And I just had to wonder—

"Why are you not fat?" I asked as I ate a fry. He was busy stuffing his face,and had stopped when I asked the question. He quickly gulped down his food.

"Cause,I exercise. Maybe you should try it." I smacked my lips. "Why?"

"So you can get abs like these." He took a hand and lifted up his shirt. The drink I had in my other hand fell out as I stared in awe at his abs.

_Oh god_,his toned, and _very_ well defined abs. I felt my hands starting to shake,just itching to feel them,and my mouth was in a 'o' shape,my eyes glued.

He took his hands off the hem of his shirt,and it fell back down. My eyes were still glued though,almost as if I had X-Ray vision.

"Lucy?" He asked. I snapped out of it and looked up at his face. "Huh?" He looked at me with an amused face as a smirk crossed his face. "Are you one of those perverts you were talking about earlier?"

"Sh-Shut up!" I yelled flustered. Dang,I can't believe I just did that in front of him.

His eyes glanced down to the floor. "Look,you spilled your drink." I looked down too. When did that happen? I started to reach down to get it,but he held up a hand. "I'll get it."

He bent down,and just as he was about to pick it up,his sunglasses slipped off.

His eyes widened in shock as he let out a gasp. "Oh,no..."

"Eeeeekkkk! It's Natsu Dragneel!" A girl yelled out. Everyone else turned their head and their eyes lit up in amazement and excitement.

"Natsu! I love you!"

"Natsu,be my girlfriend!"

"Please marry me!"

"Damn,he is soooo hot."

"Look at me Natsu!" All the girls yelled out. I slightly grimaced at some of the things these girls said.

He looked at me with a panicked expression. "Come on,Lucy. We gotta get out of here!" He grabbed my hand and yanked me from my seat. As soon as we got up,girls swarmed all around us,blocking our escape. They sent deathly glares at me,as if they were just noticing I was here. Some of them had hurt looks on their faces.

"Natsu,who is she?!"

"Is she your girlfriend?!"

"I thought you were single!" Another girl yelled.

Natsu tried to call them down,but they kept crowing and talking to him. And me.

"Get away from him,bitch!" One girl yelled. I guess it was aimed at me.

I sent a glare. "If anything,your the bitch!" I shot back.

"Don't call her a bitch you freaking slut!"

"Get the hell away from Natsu!"

Anger started to seeth through me. Gosh I hated these fan girls! "So she can call me a bitch,but I can't call her one?!" "You are all just desperate!" I shot back.

"You think your all that cause you get to be with Natsu?!" Someone else shouted. Natsu swiped a hand in front of me. "Don't talk about Lucy! She's just a friend,and nothing more." He sent a glare to all of them that shut them up.

They all stared at us in silence,still holding the circle. Then someone broke the silence.

"If she's not your girlfriend,then why are you holding hands?!" I looked down at my hand to see Natsu was still holding it. Why?

I felt something hit my cheek,and I looked down to that it was a ketchup packet. Then I saw a pickle hit my shoe,and before I knew it,the girls had erupted into angry shouts and we're throwing things at me. Napkins,ketchup,burgers...

Tears threatened to fall out my eyes,but I was gonna stay strong. Natsu continuously tried to stop the angry mob of girls,but nothing seemed to be working.

I was getting real tired of this. So you know what I did? That's right.

I ran up to a girl,bought my arm back and punched her square in the jaw. She stumbled back into another girl,and I punched another one,and another one. And before I knew it,it was a brawl. Girls punching and kicking each other. Natsu was gently pushing girls out the way and trying to block attacks that were coming to me.

I was already on the verge of crying,but what happened next,tipped me over. I felt lots of cold,icy fluid pour onto my head,dripping down my shirt,soaking it. Someone had poured a drink on me!

I felt tears start to trickle down my face. "Lucy!" Natsu yelled.

He grabbed my hand and wrapped me into a hug. "I understand you like me and all,but do you really have to be so mean?!" He yelled to the girls. "Do I really not even have the right to hand out with friends anymore?!"

"I love all my fans,but you just seriously make me sick sometimes." He said sending a glare to them and snorting in disgust. "Now get out of my way,before I make you." He said in a very threatening voice. I cried in his shirt,completely soaked. Why was Natsu so angry? Was it because they made me cry?

All the girls spread out to make way for us to get through. As soon as it was enough space to squeeze through,we ran out,him dragging me behind him.

And as we ran through the night,even considering the circumstances,I couldn't help but feel happy that my hands were in his.

* * *

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	5. The Past

_A Surfers Love_

_Chapter 5_

After the whole dilemma in McDonald's,me and Natsu ran into the small shed where we had first met. It was still nighttime out,I hadn't exactly checked the time yet,or been able to.

Since,Natsu still had me pressed tightly against his chest. Holding me close to his body. We were both on the floor,sitting,leaned against the wall. I hadn't known how long we had been in here either. I closed my eyes as I listened to Natsu's steady heartbeat. It was so soothing...and I could slightly feel his hot breath fanning over the top of my head. I wonder, why is he still holding on to me? I had stopped crying long ago. I wanted to see what kind of expression he had on his face. Was he sleeping? I couldn't exactly tell since my face was smooshed against his chest. We sat there in silence for a while longer.

"Lucy?" Natsu whispered in a soft voice.

"Hmm?" I asked

"I'm sorry." He apologized. I manged to dislocate my face from his chest and I looked at him. He stared back at me with pain filled eyes. I slightly smiled. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault anyways."

"I really am sorry,Lucy. I should have known this was gonna happen if my cover was blown. I was just thinking about myself,and not what would happen to you."

I waved my hands in front of my face. "No,Natsu! It's okay,really.I had a fun time today,despite what happened. I mean it wasn't that bad."

He let out a light laugh. "I really couldn't believe it when you just started punching people though. That really caught me off guard. Like I've said before,you always seem to amuse me Lucy."

I slightly blushed. "I did what I wanted to. I was getting tired of them talking about me and ranting about how I'm your girlfriend and stuff." I turned my head the other way and crossed my arms.

"Do you...not want to be my girlfriend?"

My head jolted back to look at his face,and I let out a slight gasp. He looked serious! I stared into his eyes...his swamp green eyes that looked so good with the moonlight shining on his face,making them shimmer. The shadows dancing across his face made him look more mature and just...different.

Without noticing it,my face had become extremely hot and my heart felt like it was racing a hundred miles a minute. Date him? Natsu? We just met yesterday,so why am I getting so nervous?!

The seriousness flew off Natsu's face as he erupted in laughter. I looked at him weirdly. Why was he laughing?

He patted my head and gazed into my eyes. "I was only playing,silly. Don't think so hard!"

I blushed even harder in embarrassment and punched him on his arm. "Natsu,you jerk!"

He sighed as he rubbed his arm and raised an eyebrow. "So you were actually thinking about it,huh? It's nice to know you see me that way,Lucy."

I huffed. "Don't get your hopes up."

I glanced back at Natsu and noticed he was looking out the window of the small shed. He had a distant look in his eyes.

"Natsu?" I cautiously asked. "What's wrong? You were all playful a few seconds ago."

"I was just...thinking."

"About what?" I asked

"About why I even do this. Why I let my friends get hurt. Why I have to hide myself when I go out in public. Why I have to put up a mask..."

I stared at him as a slight breeze went by and made his hair sway slightly. With the moonlight shining on him and the breeze ruffling through his hair,it made him look almost magical.

"Why...do you do it?" I asked him

He turned to look at me. "Why do you want to know?"

"Cause, I'm just curious." I responded.

He chuckled. "I don't know if you remember or not,but it's because of my dad." He bought up his wrist and smiled at the bracelet he was wearing. The one with the muffler on it.

"Yeah, I remember. Continue please?" I asked

"Quite impatient,are we?" He said lifting up an eyebrow. Then he sighed. "Kay,I'll tell you.

"Ever since I was little,he always wanted me to be a surfer. At first,I disagreed with him,telling him no everytime he attempted to give me surfing lessons. But after about two years of him asking,I finally said yes. That was around the age of 7. And ever since then, I began having surfing lessons everyday. I learned new things. They were fun and exciting. Feelings that were very new to me at the time,and that's when I began to realize that I had fallen in love." A look of nostalgia crossed his face.

"With the sport called surfing." He fiddled with the bracelet on his wrist before he continued. "When I was about 12,I felt I wanted to do more. More than just surf the waves with my dad. Although it was fun,I felt like I was missing out on something. Something big and adventurous."

_Flashback_

_Natsu POV_

_"Dad! Dad!" I yelled running into the kitchen, holding up a newspaper. "I heard they're having a surfing competition this weekend! Can I be in it?" I looked up at him with big puppy dog eyes. He grabbed the newspaper from my hands and scanned over it. Once he was done,he looked at me. "You think your ready for it?" He asked me. _

_I nodded my head enthusiastically. "Can I do it? Please? Please? Pleeeeeease?" I begged. He let out a light laugh. "Sure. I don't see why not." I jumped up and cheered. Dad reached into his pocket and pulled out a bracelet,with a strange looking muffler on it. "Hold out your hands." I did as I was told and he dropped it into my hands,and wrapped my fingers around it._

_"Think of it as your good luck charm. Take this and become the best surfer out there,Natsu. I know you can do it. I've known ever since you were born. I'm as proud as a father can be." He smiled at me warmly and ruffled my hair._

_I smiled back just as widely._

_End of Flashback_

Lucy POV

"Later on I actually won that surfing competition. I was the youngest surfer to ever win one where we lived at. I ran to my dad and showed him the medal I had won. He pulled me into a tight hug and ruffled my hair. And he smiled. The biggest smile I had ever seen him wear. The happiest I had ever seen him."

"I felt like a fire had been lit inside me. I felt that I had taken the first step to accomplishing my fathers dream. The dream that soon became mine and I still carry it out to this day. Ever since then,I trained harder,worked harder to improve my skills _just _so I could see that smile. Just so I could feel the joy of my father being proud of me."

"What happened to your father?" The words slipped from my mouth without me realizing and I quickly bought a hand up to close it,but it was to late.

The smile fell of Natsu's face as it seemed that the brightness in his eyes dimmed. "He died. Went into a wave and never came out. We searched...and searched and searched, but his body was never found." Natsu said bitterly clutching onto his shirt. It looked as if he was about to cry.

Now it was my turn to comfort him.

I leant forward and wrapped my arms around his head pulling him closer to my chest. I slightly sifted my fingers through his hair. "I'm sure your father's very proud of you Natsu. You've made it a long way." He remained silent.

"But it really is hard for me." He whispered. "I've always asked myself, "Why do I even surf if I can't see my dad's smile anymore? What's the point of it all?"

"Do I want him to be proud of me wherever he is now?" Natsu sighed. "I've always told myself that if I keep riding the waves,someday...someday I may find an answer,but it's never came to me. I've realized surfing is like...it's a part of me now. And I can't let go of it. It's become my dream to be the best surfer their is,but...there's always that small bit of doubt I have whenever I even touch my surfboard. I feel like theirs an important piece missing,but I just dont know what it is."

"Maybe I'll just never find an answer. I'll just continue with my life thinking that I _have _to surf or it won't feel the same. It won't be right." He had a hopeless look in his eyes.

I looked at him sadly. I didn't know what to do or say.

I gave a weak smile.

"It's-It's alright to cry,Natsu." I whispered

He wrapped his arms around me and clutched onto the back of my shirt. "Idiot,men don't cry."

He stood up. "Come on. It's getting late." I stood up too,and started to head for the shed door. I noticed Natsu wasn't following behind me,so I slightly turned around.

The moonlight made a pillar surround him,and I saw it— I saw the tears run down his face. He looked surprised for a moment,but then roughly rubbed them away.

I understood he missed his father. I understood he wanted answers. It was the same for me.

"What are you waiting for? Come on!" I yelled. "Oh,yeah." He trotted behind me and we walked out across the beach to the hotel I was staying in. This was where we parted

"Thanks,Lucy. I really feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,now that I've actually told someone what's been plaguing me for years." He smiled widely.

And what happened next,went by so fast I don't know if it was real or not.

Natsu ran up to me,and planted a sweet,tender kiss on my cheek. It felt like it lasted forever,but at the same time it didn't.

He smiled with a very slight blush on his face and ran away,across the beach. "See you tomorrow!" He yelled

I just stared at his running figure in a daze. The kiss still lingered on my cheek. It was very warm..and made my insides feel fuzzy.

Maybe...just maybe...I was starting to see Natsu Dragneel...as more than just a friend.

* * *

**Thanks lovelies,for all the reviews you gave me! I'm really super duper happy,so thank you very much. Wow,I'm really surprised this story is doing so well. When I first started on it,I never thought it would make it this far honestly.**

**Anyways,tell me what you thought about the chapter,will ya? I swear it'll make my day. And please...**

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	6. Some Cheering Up

Yeah,so like I updated this chapter like super fast so can I be rewarded with a review? Anyways,I've got like tons of ideas and prompts flowing through my head for this story right now. I've literally already got about 4 chapters written out. And I did it in one day! So Ive just been in my room writing,for my whole Saturday. But I do have a life...I really do! Enjoy the chappie!

And for the Guest that kept asking if their were gonna be any more shippings in this story,I hope this chapter answers your question!

* * *

_A Surfers Love_

_Chapter 6_

"Lucy! Where were you?!" My mother cried as I walked into our suite. As soon as I closed the door,she lunged onto me wrapping around my waist. "Oh,Lu-tan! Please don't worry your dear old mother! I thought you had been kidnapped. It's almost 12 in the morning!"

I slightly gasped at the time,but sweat dropped at my mother. " Ma,I'm sorry. Some things happened and I was out longer than expected." I slightly blushed remembering the kiss Natsu gave me. I could almost still feel the warmth it sent coursing through my body.

Layla stared at me for a few seconds until her face stretched into a huge smile and her eyes brightened. "It's a boy isn't it? You were with a boy werent you?!" She screamed and started jumping around. "A boy,a boy, a boy!" She chanted clapping. "Oh,my daughter has finally got a boyfriend!"

She wrapped me into a big hug and started jumping up and down forcing me to jump with her unless I wanted my head to be yanked off. "Ma...it's..not..a boy...friend...!" I struggled to say.

She released me and stopped jumping and stared at me with a puzzled expression. "Then where were you?"

I looked around nervously. "Well...uh,like I said,a lot of stuff happened and I came home a bit late."

She continued to stare at me,until a bright smile lined her features. "Okay,then. Just make sure to be home sooner." She turned around and started to walk back into the kitchen.

"But seriously Lucy,you should consider getting a boyfriend soon. It's kinda lonely without a man in the house and adolescents your age should already...blah blah blah..and blah."

I kinda zoned her out cause we had already went over this conversation a million or more times.

* * *

I walked onto the beach to get some fresh air. At least,that's what I told myself. I think half of me was looking for Natsu and the other half was convinced I was out to get some fresh air.

I dug my feet in the sand kicking up chunks and mounds. Their were a few run down looking sand castles,so I decided to go ahead and finish the demolition of them by kicking them down.

After kicking down a few sand castles and playing in the sand a bit,I decided to just sit down and enjoy the ocean breeze. I saw a group of girls walking by. They seemed to be teens. Since they were so close,I kinda heard some of their conversation.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"About Natsu Dragneel! I hear he's got a girlfriend now." I slightly turned around to see she was holding a newspaper and all her friends were crowing around it.

"What? Now way! Natsu is everyone's Natsu. He even stated in one of his interviews that he wasn't interested in love,let alone a girlfriend!"

"Well,this newspaper says they were seen hanging out earlier that day."

One of the friends snatched the newspaper from her. And threw it on the ground. "That's crap. The reporters will make up anything to reel people in. Natsu is everyone's. Always is and always will be."

They continued to to talk,and as soon as they were far enough I snatched up the newspaper. What was all this talk about Natsu having a girlfriend?

I unraveled it and spread out some of the wrinkles. My face stared at the heading in complete and utter shock.

_Natsu Dragneel's Potential Girlfriend?!_

I stared at the picture. The extremely large picture on the page. Natsu was holding me in his arms as I cried and it had all the angry girls surrounding us. I almost ripped the paper right there. Seriously?! They took a picture of me crying? Why couldn't they get the picture where I was beating some sense into those girls? Or when I was talking to them like I didn't give a sh*** that they were talking about me?

These stupid people just _had _to get the one time I cry in years on the newspaper! Luckily whoever took it,took a bad picture. It was all blurry and fuzzy and stuff,so you couldn't tell it was me.

I decided to continue reading under the heading.

_Yesterday,Natsu Dragneel and a girl were caught at a McDonalds restaurant in Shirahima,Japan,__being mobbed by an angry group of his fans. It seems before they were interrupted, Natsu and this girl were eating together. It was also reported that their were sittings of them walking around hand in hand. What could this mean?!_

_It seems that as the girl was getting attacked, Natsu stood up for her,telling his fans off and hugging the said girl tightly to his chest. He said,and I quote—_

_"I love all my fans,but you just seriously make me sick sometimes." In a very hateful demeanor,if I may add._

_Could the kind hearted and sweet Natsu we all know really say these things? What would push him so far? Is it because of this girl? His potential girlfriend? They were even seen leaving,running out the restaurant holding hands. Who is this mysterious girl and who is she to Natsu Dragneel?!_

I angrily ripped up the newspaper into tiny microscopic pieces,making sure no one could read even a _letter_. I knew that effort was futile though, they probably had millions already printed out.

I huffed and stood up. Me? Natsu's girlfriend? That's complete and utter crap! They seemed to have accidentally left out the part where he said."Can I not even hang out with friends."

If they wouldn't have "accidentally" forgot to put it in there,they would know what I am to him and all of this crap would be pointless. I'm his friend,that's all. Yesterday,I was actually considering us becoming best friends since he was such an easy guy to talk to,but I'm just gonna have to leave us in the "friend" status for now. I mean,we've only known each other for about 3 days. I can't believe I was even considering it.

I angrily stomped across the beach. What a load of bull. All of this is nonsense. I never signed up to be in a newspaper. I never agreed to have them write an article about me!

I hope these stupid reporters never find out who I am so I can remain a "mystery" forever!

"Oooh,someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today." The said person said whistling. I turned sharply. "What do you want?!" I hollered. Not really caring who it was I was yelling at.

When my eyes actually took notice of who the person was, it did not make my temper any better.

"Hey, loli cakes."

"What do you want,Sting?" I asked irritated.

He held up two hands in front of his face. "I just wanted to know why you look like a volcano just threw you up."

"That's none of your business." I said sharply.

"What your name?" He asked me raising a eyebrow. I was about to tell him off,but he let out a deep sign interupting me. "Don't worry. I'm not trying to pick you up or anything. I'm not even interested in you anymore. I just wanted to try to be friends since you seem different from the other girls."

"And how am I different?" I said narrowing my eyes suspiciously.

"Well,by now,all the girls would have clobbered me, being lured in by my charm. Either that,or they faint from hearing my voice,or seeing my awesome body." Then he shrugged. "I see you have no interest in me whatsoever so why should I bother trying?"

I continued to stare at him to see if he was playing at something,but he looked innocent enough. I sighed. "It's Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

"Lucy,huh?" he said sitting down. He patted the spot beside him. I reluctantly sat down making sure to leave about 2 feet of space in between us. It was quiet for a little.

"Y'know that's a pretty common name. It's kinda boring." He said casually. I looked at him incredulously.

"A name has got to have a little pizzaz to it. Like Sting. It just reminds you of like a ultra fast race car dosent it?"

"Not really." I replied dryly.

"Lucy just reminds me of..." He started. "Of a blondie."

"Oh,you mean like you?" I replied

"Nah,like you. Your a blondie."

I just sat there in silence. I was feeling very frustrated.

"So,what's got you in the dumps?" Sting asked leaning his hands back in the sand to support his weight. I lifted up an eyebrow. "So you actually noticed,huh? I had the impression that you were just a self-centered jerk."

He let out a light laugh. It was surprisingly normal and genuine. "I'm not completely heartless. I notice the little things when it counts."

"So my situation counts?" I asked looking at the side of his face. He smiled and turned to look at me. "Yeah, I guess. I mean you've captured my attention enough,so why not?"

I felt my face begin to heat up slightly.

"Well... rumors. That's all." I said answering his question as I stared out at the ocean.

Sting grimaced. "Ugh, I hate rumors."

I laughed. "I know,right?

"Especially when the rumors aren't true." He added then he glanced at me. "Is yours?"

I sighed. "No,it's not true."

He blinked as if a lightswitch clicked on in his head. "Is the rumor you were talking about,by any chance,the talk going around that Natsu has a girlfriend?"

I gasp escaped my lips as I felt my cheeks reddening. Why was I even blushing?

"Judging from your expression,I'm pretty sure I hit the mark." Sting said staring at me. "How did you know? I asked him.

"Well,I'm not gonna lie. I saw you two walking around yesterday,holding hands,or wrists or whatever. I thought you both had a little something going on too." He said looking slightly embarrassed.

"You saw us?! I screeched. His mouth spread into an amused grin. "So it is true! Your Natsu's gir-"

I swiped a hand over his mouth to keep him from saying the rest. I sent him a glare telling him to shut up. He gave a nod of his head and I slowly took it off his mouth,quickly wiping my hands off on the sand.

Ew,Sting spit.

"So you are his girlfriend..." He whispered looking at his feet as he wiggled them around.

"I am not." I said sharply.

"Then why did you look so panicked just a second ago?" He inquired.

"Because,you dimwit,if you just blurt it out,everyone will know who I am and I won't be a mystery anymore. I really don't want to have news reporters and the paparazzi following me around like your kind."

I saw a nerve tick on Stings forehead. "I'm not a dimwit." He said through gritted teeth. "And I don't know what you mean by, "my kind" but if your referring to all the sexy and rich people in the world,I'll let you slide."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure. Just quiet down a bit if your gonna talk,okay?"

"Right. For my princess." He said sarcastically

He went back to staring at his toes as he wiggled them around some more. "Don't they look beautiful?" He asked breathily. I sighed and rolled my eyes. He was off to dreamland...

"Lucy! Hey Lucy! What ya doing?!" I heard the voice,but before I could reply,I got the breath knocked out of me.

I went toppling over in the rough,grimy sand. And all I could feel was a warm hard body on top of mines. "What do you thing your doing?! Get off me you pervert!" I yelled to whoever the person was on top of me.

They rolled off and I let out a few deep breaths. I slowly lifted up my head as my eyes came in contact with the pink-haired male in front of me. I sigh of relief instantly escaped my lips.

"Oh,Natsu. It's just you." I said sitting back up and trying to wipe the sand off my thighs.

"Just me?" he asked looking slightly disappointed. "Were you expecting someone else?"

I shook my head. "I was actually expecting to find a pervert on top of me."

"A pervert?" He asked. "Is it because I jumped on top off you? That was a friendly greeting!"

"Friendly greeting my butt..." I put a finger on my chin. "But when I really think about it,you could be classified as a pervert." I told him.

He had a hurt look on his face. "Lucy...why would you ever think that?!" He yelled dramatically. "There's lot of reasons,actually." I started."You always drag me to deserted places,your always touching me in some kind of way,such as holding my hand or my wrist or whatever,and you always seem to find me one way or another..." I started to muse aloud talking more to myself than to Natsu.

I looked at him and his cheeks were a light pink. "Weird...now that I think about it."

"And you two aren't going out?" I turned my head towards the voice. It was Sting! I had completely forgotten he was here!

"How long have you been sitting right there?" I asked. "Were you eavesdropping?"

He had his head sitting on one knee. "I've been sitting right here from the start,remember? I was here before the Loli came over here,if your tiny brain can remember. And no,I wouldn't really call it eavesdropping since I didn't have to sneak or struggle to hear it. Anyone could know what you were talking about from a mile away. And yeah,you both are kinda showing a public display of affection.Y'know,the weird kind."

"Public display of affection?!" I screeched.

"Loli?!" Natsu yelled.

I felt my face begin to heat up. Damn,this was making me frustrated. As Natsu and Sting bickered about who was the "loli" I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I answered it seeing it was my mom.

"Hello?" I spoke.

"Lucy,come home immedietly! I have something super important to show you." And with that,she hung up.

What was that? She never calls me to tell me things like that. Rather,she never calls me at all! I jumped up.

"Sorry,guys. I gotta go!" And with that,I dashed off.

* * *

.

.

I swiped the card to open the door. As soon as I was about to grasp the handle,the door swung open. What I saw was a surprise I was not expecting. At All. Like I was beyond surprised I was I was...

"Lu-chan!" My friend,Levy squeezed as she lunged on top off me. She didn't knock me down though,since I was so much bigger than her.

"Levy. What are you doing here?" I asked a bit dazed.

"Your mom told me you guys would be staying here a lot longer than expected,so I decided to come over too! I even bought the rest of the gang with me!"

She opened the door wider to reveal a whole bunch of other people I didn't expect to see any time soon.

Well...guess my life just got a tad bit harder...

"Yo." Gray said as he gave a lazy wave.

"I only came cause Levy asked..." Gajeel grunted.

"Erza wanted me to come,so I came." Ezra's boyfriend,Jellal said waving and smiling at me politely. Wait,I hardly even knew this guy. Why did Erza just decide to bring him with her?

"Sorry,for this,Lucy." Erza said as if she read my mind. "I didn't know how long we'd be staying,and I couldn't stay away from Jellal!" She leant over and slightly grazed his cheek,letting out a cute giggle. Gosh,it scared me how much she changed when she was around him...

"Juvia only came because Gray-sama did. Juvia needs to be by Gray-sama at all times." She said nodding her head and smiling brightly. Gray let out an aggravated groan. Even though he always inquired he didn't like her,I could tell he was starting to become closer to her.

I turned to my mother. "Is this the important thing you wanted to talk about? Why did you invite all of _them_?" I asked my mother in disbelief pointing to them.

"Hey!" They all yelled out in unison.

"No offense guys." I said quickly dismissing any ill intent.

"Because Lucy. It turns out that I got promoted to work over here. So..of course this is still our vacation. For now. But in a few months we will be moving into a actual home and stay here."

I gasped. "Stay here?! What about my school? What about my friends?!" I yelled shocked to a new extent.

"It's no worry, Lu-chan. We will come to visit as much as possible. That's why we came while your still on vacation, so we could be with each other till it's time...to part." She said sadly.

I felt tears threatening to fall out my eyes. I didn't want this. I didn't want to have to make new friends! I didn't want to have to move to an entirely new place.

"I...I—" I started.

I turned on my heel,yanked the door open and ran out. I ran as fast as I could. I didn't know where I was running. I didn't know how far. I ran. I just had to get out of there.

I stopped,panting heavily. I closed my eyes and put my hands on my knees. Tears fell out my eyes freely,I tried to stop them. I really did. But they just kept rolling down my face.

I sat heavily in the sand,hurting my butt in the process but I didn't care. I brought my knees up to my chest and just cried. I didn't know how I could live with moving...moving away from the only things I'd known for years...

"Lucy?" I brought my head up slowly.

"Natsu..." I whispered as more tears fell out my eyes. He was crouched in front of me with a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm moving." I said.

"Moving?"

"Yeah. My mom got promoted to work somewhere in Shirahima. Which is here. That means I'll be leaving my friends,my school,my family...I'll have to start over."

He took a seat beside me. "Going to new places isn't bad. Seeing new things aren't bad. Starting anew...isn't bad."

I looked up and glared at him. "How would you know Natsu?!" I yelled. "How would you know what it's like to be separated from everybody? Everything you know?! Be the outsider,the loner?!"

"I know what it's like." He whispered.

"I've actually been the outsider. Then loner. I've actually _experienced_ it,and I can tell you I had it worse than you,and you haven't even had it yet."

My temper cooled. "What are you talking about?"

"I used to live in Hawaii. With my dad. But when he...when he left I was left all alone. My aunt took me here to live in Japan with her,and that's when everything went downhill. I was here,in a new country. New people. New things. New experiences. I didn't know the language,I looked different from everyone else,put it simply I was the ugly duckling. The outsider."

He turned to me and a soft smile grazed his lips. "But as you can see,that's changed. I learned something. I learned to look on the bright side of things. Not to let anything bring you down. When kids made fun of me, I turned it into a joke. I laughed along with everyone,I wasn't the one being laughed at,the bullyer was.

I learned the language,made good grades, continued surfing,and I am where I am today because of it."

"What bright side is their in my situation?" I asked bitterly. "I have no one bullying me,so I can't make a joke of it, I know the language so I can't learn it,and I don't surf and don't ever plan on doing it..."I said sadly.

"Will you make new friends?" Natsu asked. I nodded my head. "But I don't want to..."

"Think about it,you'll be leaving all the people you didn't like behind. You'll never see them again." I thought about Jenny. She reminded me of Sting in a way. Always thought she was the best thing in existence. Always boasted about how much better she was than everyone else. I surely wouldn't miss that.

"Yeah, that's one thing I'm happy about." I said quietly.

"Will you be on the beach? The beach is where everything happens y'know."

I nodded my head. "Yeah,I will be on the beach."

"Will you be happy to wake up and smell the nice ocean breeze,see the clear blue waves,and hear the seagulls chirping?" He asked.

I nodded,slightly starting to feel better just thinking about it. Waking up to clear blue waters,and bright sunshine...

"Will you die?"

"No."

"Will you be able to see your old friends?"

"Yes." I said my smile widening.

"Will you still be able to see your family?"

"Yes."

"Won't you still have me?" He asked.

I laughed. "Yeah,I guess so."

"Then their is nothing to worry about. As long as you have something to look forward to,you can always find hope."

I smiled widely. "Thanks. I feel a whole lot better now."

"No problem!" He said smiling back just as widely.

"You really are amazing." I said breathily staring as the waves crashed against the shore.

"How so?" He asked in a slightly embarrassed tone.

"After everything you've been through,you still smile as if you haven't got a care in the world."

He smiled and followed my gaze. "Like they say,what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

I laughed.

"Say,Lucy." Natsu started. I lifted up an eyebrow.

"Do you...would you go to the Summer Festival with me next week?"

* * *

Yayyyyy! Another date! Natsu you joker,you... Anyways,sorry Guest! I didn't do the GrayxCana cause I don't really see it. When I think of Gray being with someone in a fic,I always think about either Juvia or Lucy. In this case,it's Juvia. So sorry! But at least I've got the other shippings...? But of course the spot light will be on Natsu and Lucy since this is a NaLu fic. Not anything else.

Anyways,look forward to the next chapter!

And...please Review,Follow,and Fav! Thanks minna-san!


	7. Summer Festival

**I really do have to thank all of you! You have no idea how happy it makes me when I actually get feedback on this story. It makes me feel really...happy. And makes me want to keep writing more. I swear,you all,my readers,are surely my BIGGEST inspiration.**

**And I love all of you! :)) Oh,and this is something I've noticed I've never done in my stories,but I realized I should probably do it more often.**

**DISCLAMIER: I do not own Fairy Tail! This is all made for pure entertainment purposes,with Hiro Mashima's characters! Ooh,Hiro. You have no idea how much I love YOU! He really changed my life when he made the series "Fairy Tail" which I do not own!**

* * *

_A Surfers Love_

_Chapter 7_

"Ouch! Are you sure this isn't to tight?" I yelled at Layla. "Lucy,it's suppose to be this way. Haven't you ever seen anyone wear a kimono before?"

I winced in pain as Layla tied the obi around my waist,creating a neat bow in the back. "There,all done!" She exclaimed. I looked over into the mirror and slightly gasped at my appearance. I barely recognized the reflection I saw in the mirror.

I had on a black kimono with pink floral printing on it. The big and bright pink flowers really made the outfit pop. My hair was put into a side bun and had a flowered barrette clamped to it as an assesory. Levy even went as far as putting me in makeup! I told her not to do it,but Erza strapped me down and I had no choice but to oblige.

I stared at the artificial blush on my cheeks, my extended eyelashes,and the bright red lipstick in my lips. Ahh,this was to much!

"See,you look beautiful,don't you?" Layla said stepping up behind me and laying her hands on my shoulders.

I nodded and walked into the living room where everyone else was. Juvia had on a light blue kimono with a navy blue obi and navy blue flowers on it. Erza had on a dark red kimono with a black obi and black flowers on it,and Levy had on a dark green kimono with a white obi and matching flowers on hers. I guess you could say we tried to go with the same theme. All the guys just had on casual clothes.

What party poopers. Makes the girls look like they're trying to hard.

I blushed slightly as I saw everyone's eyes on me. "You look...nice." Gray started. "Gray-sama!" Julia yelled lightly hitting him on the arm.

I looked around nervously. "Shall we go?" I asked.

Everyone nodded and started walking out the door. I felt kind of left out since everyone had somebody...but me. Jellal and Erza were arm in arm,Levy and Gajeel,and even Gray and Juvia. Although Gray looked very uncomfortable and was trying to pry his arm away.

We made it out the hotel and we walked across the beach and into the city where we were suppose to be meeting Natsu. I already explained to him that my friends were coming too,and we would meet at the entrance. We were almost there.

Levy ran over to me. "I can't wait to meet this guy you've been talking about,Lu-chan! Is he hot? Is he nice?" she asked.

I slightly blushed. "Well he's pretty good looking I could say. And yeah,he's super nice. At least,most of the time."

We walked up to the entrance and I saw Natsu leaning against a pole. My face immediately spread into a smile and I ran over to him.

"Natsu! Hey Natsu!" His head shot up and a smile grazed his features. "Hey Lucy!" I neared him and stopped to catch my breath. When I finally looked up I saw Natsu was staring at me. His face was slightly pink.

I was starting to get worried.

"Do I look that bad?" I asked. "I told Levy she did to much. I should have just—"

"No,you look good Lucy." Natsu said, turning his head to the side. He had his hand covering half of his face.

"You look really,really good." He repeated. With an expression I couldn't exactly read.

Finally taking in his words I felt my face begin to heat up a thousand degrees a second.

"Uh,t-thanks." I said looking down in embarrassment. "You look good too." He had on a orange shirt that said."I love the sun" in white letters and a pair of khaki shorts. I also noted he had on his sun glasses.

"So this is him,huh?" I heard a voice say behind me. I turned around to see Levy and the whole gang.

"How long have you all been right there?!" I exclaimed. I was hoping they hadn't seen anything.

"We saw everything." Levy said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Natsu was looking slightly confused. "Oh,Natsu,these are my friends." I said waving a hand over to them. "The short blue haired girl is Levy."

"Hey,Natsu! Lu-chan has told me so much about you!"

Natsu lifted up an eyebrow. "Oh,has she now?" He said in a amused tone. I blushed even deeper. "Levy,be quiet!"

She giggled. "Sorry." Although I knew she didn't mean it.

"The big mean looking dude is her boyfriend,Gajeel." Gajeel sent a glare to me then looked at Natsu. "I really don't care about who ya is or anything,so I'd prefer it if ya didn't speak to me."

"Quite a nice fellow aren't you?" Natsu said sarcastically. "And your her boyfriend?" Natsu said pointing to Levy. Gajeel nodded.

"Hmm,interesting." He said although it looked like he was trying to hold in a laugh.

The red haired one is Erza,and the light blue haired man beside her is her boyfriend. Natsu nodded towards them and Jellal nodded back. Erza just sent him a glare. "You better not do anything to hurt Lucy or I swear I'll..."

"Erza it's fine. He's done anything,but hurt me."

She crossed her arms and huffed,muttering incoherent words.

"And lastly,this is Juvia,and this is Gray" I said pointing to them.

"Juvia is Gray-sama's girlfriend!" she yelled out.

"No your not." Gray said coldly.

She pouted. "You dont have to deny it..."

I clasped my hands together. "Now that introductions are over,it's time to have some fun!"

Everyone cheered,fist pumping the air. We all started to walk through the entrance towards all the booths. I turned behind me to see Levy and everyone else,excluding Natsu,in a small circle talking to each other.

"Come on guys!" I yelled. They all shot their head up. "Coming!" Then they trotted to catch up with me and Natsu. I narrowed my eyes. Weird...

"So what do you wanna do first?" Natsu asked looking around at the different booths available.

I put a finger on my chin. "Well,I've always wanted to try that fishing game!" He smiled as we walked over to a booth.

"Hey young fella's!" the man working the booth exclaimed. "To play this game,I'll give you six balls. And the goal is to get at least 3 of the six inside one of those jars! If you win,you get to take home a free fish!"

My eyes brightened. "Ooh,Natsu can we do it? Can we do it?!" Natsu laughed and took out his wallet.

"What are you getting that out for?" I asked him.

"The game is 100 yen. We can't play for free."

"Oh,I'm sorry. I didn't know. You don't have to pay for it if you don't want to..."

"It's okay,Lucy. I _want_ to pay for it. If it's for you."

I felt my face begin to heat. Why did everything he say have to have such an effect on me?!

"Really?" I asked.

"Really." He confirmed.

"Okay..." He handed the money to the man,and he have Natsu six balls. He then gave the balls to me.

I looked at him slightly surprised. "I can do it?" He nodded. "But you paid for it."

"Lucy it's alright. I told you I _want _to do this. No one is forcing me to." I looked at him slightly unsure of myself. I took the balls from his hand. I tried to line my hand up with one of the jars,and failed miserably. One ball out—five more to go.

.

.

I sighed unhappily. "In the end,I still didn't get my fish." "It's alright Lucy. There is always next time."

"Whenever that'll be." I muttered.

Now that I thought about it,where did Levy and the rest of them go? I blinked as if a lightbulb went off in my head. I knew they were planning something...

We moved through the crowd of people to try to get to the next booth. Gosh,where did all these people come from?!

My hand instinctively reached for Natsu's,so I wouldn't be separated from him. But I was a second to late. A guy pushed to get in front on me,separating me from Natsu. I silently cursed under my breath and shoved the person away for me. When I finally caught sight of him,he was far ahead of me and their was no way I could push through all these people. "Natsu!" Natsu!" I yelled trying to get his attention. He didn't seem to notice me.

Blinded by the commotion,I didn't see the man beside me and I bumped into him. He spilled the drink he had in his hand all over his shirt.

"I'm sor-"

"Watch where your going would ya? You made me spill this all over myself." He glared angrily at me and shoved me roughly,sending me toppling over into the shrubs that were behind the booths.

I stood up and dusted myself off. When did people get so rude...?

"Don't just push girls like that,you douch!" I yelled hoping the man who pushed me,heard it.

I looked around aimlessly,searching for Natsu with little luck. I sighed,guess I'm all alone...

I trudged my way over to a bench and just sat there. I propped my elbows on my knees and rested my face in my hands.

Why did this have to happen to me? This was suppose to be a fun day out with friends...with Natsu. And now the group of 8 I was in,has narrowed down to just 1. Which was me. Where did the others even go anyways? I wonder,is Natsu looking for me? Is he worried?

I continued to stare at everyone else having the times of their lives for about another half hour hoping someone would find me. Or someone I knew would walk by. I stared sadly as I saw couples walking by. Feeding each other,laughing,kissing,hugging,holding hands...I had never felt the need to have a boyfriend before,but now I felt so lonely...so left out.

I blinked slightly when I saw it—I saw the flash of pink in the crowd. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. It was him. It had to be. I jumped up so fast,you would think I was Flash,and ran over to him.

"Natsu! Natsu!" I yelled as I pushed through more people until he was right in front of me. We made eye contact,and he looked like he was trying to tell me something his mouth couldn't. But it didn't matter.

I stared at him in anger and disbelief. But what outweighed that was, disappointment and sadness. For some reason,I felt as though I had been betrayed.

Natsu stood there with two busty girls with barely any clothing on, way above his age,latched onto both sides of his arms. I felt anger boil up inside me. "Natsu,you jerk!" I yelled as I turned around and started to run away. I ran though the people knocking over things and pushing people out of my way. How could he do this to me? Everyone is just mocking me. Rubbing in that they have something I don't. Tears threatened to fall out my eyes,but I sucked them back in.

In the midst of my running,I felt a hand cup mine,holding me in place. Somehow,he had caught up to me.

My cheeks instantly flared, although he had done this to me before.

"Don't run,Lucy." He said.

"Why don't you just go back over there to those pretty girls?" I said mockingly in a angered voice. "You dont care about me anyways."

"Lucy,I invited you. Not them. I want to spend this night with _you_." He said,almost pleaded.

I closed my eyes. "Then why were you with them?"

"They attacked me and they wouldn't let go no matter what I did."

I turned to face him and his face was written with guilt.

"Hottie-kuuunn! Where'd you go?" I turned to see the girls who were with him. They must have been looking for him.

He tightened the grip he had on my hand. "Come on." He pulled me and we ran through the crowd.

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face.

* * *

We both sat in the grass on a hill,panting hard. "Phew. That was a close one." Natsu said wiping his forehead.

He turned and smiled at me. "Just to make sure you don't go wondering off again,what's your number?"

"My number?"

He nodded. "Yeah,your cell number. Just in case we get separated again,I can call you."

"Umm,okay." I told him my number and he took out his phone and put it in. He then raised his phone so that it was angled at me.

"What are you—?"

_Click._

"This will be your contact photo." Natsu said pressing a button. I blushed. "Hey,give me that back!" I yelled reaching to grab for it. "Get it yourself!" He teased raising it high up in the air. I reached and grabbed for it,and in my desperate attempt,I ended up falling over. Right on top of Natsu.

After the impact,I opened my eyes and they met forest green ones. His eyes were wide with shock and I was pretty sure mines were too. Our faces were just millimeters apart,and our lips were even closer...

"Uh,Lucy,mind getting off me?" Natsu asked sheepishly. "O-Oh. Sorry." I said scrambling out of his personal space. My heart was beating so fast.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "Here's my number. Y'know,since I have yours and all." he handed me a slip of paper,though his hands were slightly shaking. Then he handed me his phone. "Here take a picture and I'll send it to you."

I held up the phone and Natsu smiled widely putting up a peace sign. I couldn't help but feel a bit fluttery on the inside. His smile always made me feel that way...

_Click._

"There,now we have each others numbers."

I smiled at him. "Yeah,this'll prove convenient in the long run."

_BOOM!_

I looked up at the sky and saw all the colors dancing around.

"The fireworks have started." Natsu said breathily,smiling as more fireworks popped into the sky. The colors danced across his face.

I looked up too and enjoyed the fireworks show. They were so beautiful and colorful...

And somehow, I didn't feel like the one left out anymore. I felt as if I was _apart_ of it.

I noticed my hand was considerably warm. I glanced down and saw Natsu's hand was still intertwined with mine. Maybe he had forgot to let go,maybe he didnt.

I didn't care though,because I surely wasn't going to tell him to let go.

* * *

Yayyyy! NaLu fluff in this chapter. Hope it pleased you guys even a bit.

Please review,follow,and fav!


	8. A Visit to His House

Whoooo! Just came back from the beach! I had fun...and I got some ideas for this story,and even started thinking about writing a new one! Yaaaayyyyy!

Oh,and a lot of you were expecting them to kiss last chapter weren't you? Hehe. Don't worry though. It's just gonna take some time. Y'know development,getting to know each other better,actually really starting to like each other? Or,accidents could happen...Who knows! Just stay for the ride,peeps.

* * *

_A Surfers Love_

_Chapter 8_

I woke up with a yawn,stretching out my muscles. Levy lay beside me and Erza and Juvia were sleeping in the bed across from us. I reached over to grab my phone off the bed stand. It was just 7:30. Why did I wake up so early? I also had a message from...Natsu?

My eyes widened. I had totally forgot I gave my number to him! I clicked on it,opening it up.

_"Good Morning,Lucy! I just wanted you to know I had a lot of fun last night. Thanks for the great time. ;)"_

I felt my face start to heat up and a light sqeal escape from my lips. For some reason my mind interpreted that a whole different way from how it was intended to be. Maybe he did it on purpose? I know how he likes to tease me.

Seeing as I wasn't sleepy anymore I rose from the bed and proceeded to the kitchen.

Memories flooded into my head of what happened yesterday.

Flashback

_"Lu-chan! I got tickets to go to a concert tomorrow!"Levy exclaimed. I slightly smiled. "I hope you and Gajeel have fun."_

_"No,silly. I got 4 tickets. That mean you and Natsu can come too!"_

_My eyes narrowed as I stared at her. "Why did you ask me when you could have asked someone else?"_

_She glanced to the side nervously. "I-I asked everyone else,but they said they already had plans.."_

_"By the way,during the festival,why did you all just disappear?" I asked._

_"Just take the tickets,and don't forget to ask him!" She shoved the tickets in my hands and ran off._

End of Flashback

I seriously don't know what goes through her mind sometimes...

I grabbed out a bottle of orange juice and some leftover pizza we had yesterday. I didn't even bother to heat it up. I was to lazy to walk across the kitchen and put it in the microwave so I just took a seat and began to chomp it down. And I realized. Cold pizza and orange juice don't exactly go together.

I made a slight frown as I finished gulping down my juice and I wiped my mouth off. Then, I headed over to the bathroom and proceeded to do my morning routine. Brush my teeth,wash my face,ect.

Once I was done freshening up and putting on clothes,I grabbed my phone and decided to head down to the beach for a morning walk. I caught a glance at the tickets that were lying on the table and shoved them in my other pocket. Just for the heck of it. I decided to leave my shoes since I was only gonna be walking on sand anyways.

.

.

I walked on the beach,letting the cool breeze sway through my hair as I enjoyed the calming noise the waves provided me. This was the most peaceful I had ever seen the beach,since most people were probably in their beds sleeping right now,so it was actually pretty deserted.

As I continued to walk,I noticed a figure in the waves. As I got closer,I realized it was...

"Natsu!" I yelled. His head jolted up towards my voice and a wave came crashing in,knocking him off his board and into the water. I cringed at the sight. Darn...I had interrupted his concentration.

He quickly resurfaced from the water,coughing a bit as he came up. Then with his board in one hand, he paddled to shore. Eventually he made it to where I was standing.

"I'm really sorry,Natsu." I apologized.

"It not a problem,really. It was about time for me to stop anyways." He reassured.

"Do you usually do this?" I asked him.

He nodded. "I usually start around 5:30 and stop around 8 or until people start coming to the beach. I like being...in the zone. If you wanna call it that."

"Oh." I said.

"Why are you always here anyways? Do you not have anything to do? Or do you really just wanna see me that badly?" He asked smirking.

"I didn't even know you would be up at this time of day!" I yelled.

He laughed. "I was just kidding. Calm down."

I huffed and crossed my arms,turning away from him.

"Can you help me with something?"he asked.

I slightly turned my head. "With what?"

"I need you to fix something for me. Just come,please?" I hesitantly nodded my head. "Okay,I guess..."

...

We arrived at a humongous house. It looked like a place where the rich would live. It was at least 6 times bigger than my own home,back in Tokyo.

"Is this...where you live?" I asked breathlessly staring up at the huge house.

"Yeah." He replied causally.

"Wow...didn't know surfers got paid this much..." I said still shocked

"They don't." He inquired. "My mom is sort of like a famous musician. After I moved out of my aunts place,she bought this home for me and basically sends me money every month to pay for necessities. Although I've never talked to her before,she somehow knows all my whereabouts and what's going on in my life. My aunts told me lots of stories and showed me many pictures of her though. So I can imagine what kind of person she is."

"Wow.." I said pretty awestruck. "Your mom's really something..."

His face contorted into a frown. "No she's not." He walked up to the door and opened it. "You coming?"

I was stuck in my tracks for a second,but quickly recovered. I nodded and trotted up the steps and into his home. I was even more amazed on how it looked on the inside. I was surprised it wasn't messy. It was amazingly tidy for it to be a mans home.

And it also had little furniture so it was very spacious. He had about 3 boards propped against one wall,and I was just now noticing he was using the one I had helped him pick out. Also,one wall was glass French doors that you could slide open and closed,giving you a clear view of the beach. The view was amazing.

"What was it you wanted me to fix?" I asked him.

He tossed a shirt into my hands. "Some of the buttons got ripped off slightly,and since your a girl and all,I was hoping you knew how to sow them back on. By the way,the stuff you need is in that cabinet by the tv."

"So I'm your house maid or something now?" I asked agitatedly.

"No,No!" He said waving his hands in front of his face. "Can't a good friend just do a deed?"

I sighed. "I guess I will...but _just_ because you've helped me quite a bit."

He smiled widely. "Thanks!" Then he zipped over to what I assumed to be the bathroom. "I'll be in the shower!" and then the door shut closed. I let out a sigh as I walked over and yanked open the draw,taking out the fabric and needle.

Then realization struck me. I was in a house. Alone with a guy. A _naked _guy to be exact,and all I have to do is open that door if I want to see...

I shook my head of any shameful thoughts and desided to get to work. My mind kept unconsciously slipping to other things,and before I knew it,I had went into Lala land.

I heard the door creak open and out came Natsu in all his glory. He had on a pair of shorts but his upper body was bare and he had a small towel draped around his neck,drying his hair off with one end of it. I had seen him without a shirt on the first time we met,but the first time he wasn't _wet. _He didn't have droplets of water going down his body and he wasn't radiating such a sweet smell.

My eyes were glued. Did I tell you how much of a muscle freak I was?

And believe me—Ohhh,believe me,I saw plenty.

Muscles...muscles...abs...pectorals...biceps..triceps..muscles...MUSCLES! The inner Lucy yelled in frustration. I could feel my hands starting to reach towards him against my will.

"Lucy,is you finger bleeding?" Natsu asked with a worried expression as he crouched in front of me. Oh god,OH GOD. I swear my nose was about to start bleeding if he didn't get away from me. I was about to go crazy!

"Give me your hand." He demanded. "Huh?"

He grabbed my hand and placed my finger in his mouth. I blushed 18,000,000,000 shades darker than the _darkest_ shade of red.

"N-Natsu.." I stuttered as the hot,wetness encased my finger. I felt his tongue slither across the tip of my finger and it sent a wave of pleasure down my spine. I looked at his lips which were enclosed around my finger and I just realized how plump they looked...they weren't all thin and crispy like other boys I'd seen. My eyes wandered down to his pectorals...his chest. His well-chiseled chest...

I squeezed my eyes shut as I started to back away. This was to much...why was he so perfect?!

I felt my foot hit something, and all of a sudden,sweet,soft music started playing and Natsu's eyes shot open. I took this time to yank my finger out his mouth and backed away at least 5 feet from him.

"I-Idiot! How did you know I didn't have aids?! You could have gotten it too!"

"But you don't,do you? So it's safe."

My ears actually tuned into the music that was playing. I could tell it was a professional violinist,by the way they played. It sounded so magical and so...real. It made so many emotions swell up in me and I wanted to cry.

I glanced to my right to see their was a stereo right beside me. Why was I just now noticing it...? In front of the stereo was a cd case and I picked it up. The cover had a huge white flower on it and a name was written in cursive on the front.

"Eu-"

"Europa?" I questioned,reading the name.

Natsu nodded his head. "That's...that's my moms name. This is her composition."

"Wow...this music is so beautiful..." I breathed. Natsu reached over and clicked it off.

"Why'd you stop it?" I asked disappointed

"It makes me mad." He said bitterly. "She prioritizes music over her own son. Her own creation. She's never once been with me throughout my whole life. I've never seen her in person or heard her voice before. Yet,she has the nerve to send me stuff every month? To actually try to act a little like a mother after dads gone?"

"I just can't forgive her." Natsu got up and went into his room.

I stared at his silhouette as he walked in and closed the door. It seemed like everyday I was learning more and more about Natsu..and his past. I hate when he tells me about those things because he always had such a pained expression. It always makes me feel guilty when he's always being so open and honest with me,yet I've hardly told him a single thing about my past...

My head shot up when I heard a door creak. Natsu came out with a shirt on. Thank god...

I suddenly remembered the tickets I had in my pocket. I stood up and fidgeted slightly.

"Say Natsu,wanna go to this concert with me today? It's at 4."

"Today?" He asked. He put his hand on his chin and looked up thoughtfully. "I don't know. How would this benefit me?"

"Natsu! I went when you asked me!" I yelled.

He started walking towards me with a smirk on his face. "Well...that's because you like me right?"

"Uh,I-I.." I said backing away as he got closer. My back pressed up against a wall. I was trapped. He inched his way closer till he was standing directly in front of me. He was so close,his breath was fanning over my face.

"You like me,don't you Lucy?" He breathed on my ear. Shivers ran up and down my spine.

He grabbed a piece of my hair and stroked it. "Maybe I'll go if you provide me with a bit of...service." He whispered huskily.

I felt my knees start to go weak.

"N-Natsu..what are you..?"

I heard him chuckle,and then he burst into a laugh. "Haha! Lucy I swear you are the easiest person to tease!"

I felt my face heat up from anger and embarrassment. "Ugh,whatever." I said stomping away from him. "Your unbelievable." I took a seat at one of the stools in his kitchen.

He walked over and slid into the seat across from me. "You know I was just kidding Lucy. I always am! I can't believe you always fall for it." He said snickering.

"Well you shouldn't make it sound so believable..." I muttered.

"Anyways,I wasn't kidding about the service." He said looking into my face seriously.

I felt a blush begin to creep onto my cheeks. "You weren't?"

"I want you to cook me something to eat." He said

I don't know why,but I let out a breath of relief. "Oh,so that's what you meant..."

He raised up and eyebrow in amusement. "What did you think I was talking about?"

"Well...y'know cause you were doing all that stuff before I just..."

"Oh,so you were thinking about naughty service..." He assumed smirking. "Didn't know you thought about that kind of stuff,Lucy."

"Y-You made me think that way!" I stuttered. "Y-You were backing me up into a wall,a-and whispering stuff in my ear! Who wouldn't think you were talking about that?!" I yelled. I felt my ears growing hot.

"Yeah,sure I did. Just get to making me some food."

I scowled at him as I got up from my seat. Who does he think he's dealing with,teasing me and ordering me around? I let out a huff. But...this is for Levy. I'm pretty sure she paid money for these tickets and I wouldn't want it to go to waste.

"What do you want,_dear_?" I said in an aggravated voice.

"Well,_honey_, I would like some eggs and sausage. Make it snappy." He added. I felt a nerve tick in my head. He was really pushing my buttons and he seemed to know he was doing it.

I angrily got out a pan and dug in his refrigerator for the sausage and eggs. Now that I thought about it,this was quite simple to make. It should take me no more than 5 minutes.

I took out the sausage and slapped it on the grill,and set the timer for about 3 minutes,then I cracked the egg in a bowl and began to whisk. I noticed eyes were boring into me.

"Do you really have to stare?" I asked.

"Yeah,its interesting." He responded continuing to stare. I just sighed. "Do whatever you want then." I mumbled under my breath.

I poured some butter into the pan and then the eggs over it. Once that was done, I took the sausage off the grill put it on a plate,and slapped the eggs on there,tossing it in front of Natsu.

He stared at it incredulously. "Is this all?" He asked pointing to it. I nodded. "You said egg and sausage right?"

Laughter started to erupt from his throat. I was really getting tired of all this random laughter. What did I do wrong now?!

"D-Do...you r-really think...t-this is enough...for me?" He clutched his stomach as he doubled over with laughter.

"She cooked me one of each!" Natsu yelled rolling on the floor laughing. I felt my face begin to heat.

"Then what do you want?!" I yelled

He stopped rolling around and got back on his stool,snickering. "Cook the whole carton." "And the whole package of sausage."

I gaped at him. "For real?"

"For real." He repeated.

"Your gonna get fat,y'know."

He shrugged. "I doubt that would ever happen. I work out."

"Well,if that's what you want." I added. Then I got to work. Never knew Natsu had such an appetite...

.

.

"Mmm,that was delicious!" Natsu exclaimed rubbing his stomach.

"Now that means your going to the concert." I said smiling triumphantly.

He sighed. "Guess so."

.

.

We walked into the auditorium of the concert building. I didnt know wether I should dress up or not,so I just wore a pair of white shorts,and a blue t-shirt.

Levy and Gajeel came pretty dressed up though. Guess I should have followed their example. Natsu was looking around boredly as we found our seat and took it. I sat in between Levy and Natsu.

"When is this thing gonna start?" He asked

"I don't know,but maybe in a few minutes." I whispered back.

He let out a deep sigh. "I hope it starts soon."

As if on que,a man came out with a viloin and everyone started clapping. I clapped too since it was common curtesy.

The applause stopped and the man closed his eyes. Then he began to play. It was sweet and soft at first,but then it became harder and rougher,almost like a raging storm,before it went back to being soft and sweet.

It felt as though he was telling us a story,although there were no words. I closed my eyes becoming seemingly relaxed by it. And before I knew it...I had drifted off to sleep.

NORMAL POV

Natsu stared at the man playing, solemnly. He hated this kind of music. It reminded him to much of his mother and bought back unpleasant memories.

"I'm leaving." He muttered under his breath. As soon as he stood up,he felt a hand grasp his arm. He turned around slightly,to see Levy.

"Don't forget to bring this with you." She said pointing to Lucy.

Natsu stared down at Lucy's sleeping figure and he sighed. "Seriously?"

He picked her up and slung her over his back,holding her legs and arms in place so she wouldn't fall.

"See you later,then." He whispered to Levy. Then he walked out.

...

Lucy POV

I peeked my eyes open a bit. Why was it so bright? Where was I? I opened up my eyes a bit wider and I saw a head of pink. "N-Natsu?" I whispered. "Hmm?" He asked as he stared me.

I jolted up causing our foreheads to knock each other's. "Ouch!" He yelled grasping his forehead. I hardly felt the pain since I was still a bit dazed from waking up.

"Were you—Were you staring at me while I was sleep?!" I yelled

"Yep,and you looked so cute too!" He gushed.

I felt my face grow darker. "Pervert..."

I then looked down at my attire. All I had on was a huge,white t-shirt.

"N-Natsu,did you undress me?!" I whispered in a dangerously low tone.

"No Lucy!" He said holding his hands up in front of his face before I smacked him. "Your clothes are under the shirt!"

I bought my hand down and flicked the collar open,peaking inside. Oh,my clothes really were still on.

"Why'd you put this shirt on me then?" I asked. "For extra warmth." He said back.

"Hmm,ok I guess." I paused to look around at my surroundings. Looked like he had bought me back to his place and put me on the couch.

"Where did Levy and Gajeel go?" I asked him

"They stayed to watch the performance. Unlike you,they didn't fall asleep."

I blushed. It wasn't my fault the music was so soothing...

I looked out of the French glass doors to see it was already nighttime. "It looks pretty late. I guess I should go." I said starting to pull the blanket off of me.

Natsu grabbed my wrist,holding me in place. "What?" I asked as I tried to yank my arm away.

"Stay." He said staring directly into my eyes.

"No Natsu. My mom's gonna worry if I don't go back."

"Then call her or something. I want you to stay here with me." He beckoned. Something about the way he said that made me stop resisting.

He closed his eyes and leant in closer to me. My face instantly started to heat up. Was he gonna kiss me? As he got closer,I shut my eyes on instinct waiting for the contact. But it never came.

I heard a 'plop' beside me and I opened an eye to see he was sprawled out on the pillow with his eyes closed. Oh,he was just trying to lay down. I cant believe I thought he was gonna kiss me...

He snuggled into the pillow deeper. "I really don't feel like walking you home,so stay. I'm super tired." A yawn escaped from his lips and he pulled the blanket over him more.

So that's why he wanted me to stay...gosh,why am I thinking so hard?!

I heard light snoring and my gaze returned to Natsu. "Natsu?" I questioned

He stirred a little but then continued snoring. I reached a finger down and lightly poked his cheek. A giggle erupted from my lips. He was surprisingly cute when he was sleep. This was my payback. I pulled out my phone and started to snap pictures of him in as many angles as I could.

I smirked deviously. I could use these to blackmail him! I sent a quick text to my mom and stifled a yawn.

I laid my head down on the pillow and my face heated up. Natsu's face was so close to mines...and he looked like a baby while he slept. Looked so peaceful.

I closed my eyes as I let my body relax.

I guess I could get used to this...


	9. The Talk

Authors Note: Thanks for all the reviews minna-san! And I can't believe I'm almost at 100 followers! Kyaaaaaa,I'm so happy. This is totally off topic but, I'm going to the Race for the Cure tomorrow! Wish me luck on the 5km run...I think that's a mile.

Anyways,I took some of your suggestions into account from your reviews and added them in this chapter.

* * *

_Recap:_

_I laid my head down on the pillow and my face heated up. Natsu's face was so close to mines...and he looked like a baby while he slept. Looked so peaceful._

_I closed my eyes as I let my body relax._

_I guess I could get used to this..._

* * *

_A Surfers Love_

_Chapter 9_

I woke up to crisp,bright sunlight and different hues of blue swimming on the walls. I blinked and a yawn escaped my lips. Where was I? I tried to move around but something was keeping me smooshed up against the couch and it was rather warm. I could feel light breath fanning my ears. I still couldn't exactly piece the things together since I was still hazed from sleep.

I blinked a few more times,and then rubbed my eyes,turning to my side. I let out a light squeal when I saw who lay beside me. Then realization struck.

I was still at Natsu's house!

When my heart stopped beating a hundred miles a minute from the shock, I let out a deep breath and just continued to stare at him. His eyelashes were longer than I expected them to be. And his pink hair was spread messily across his face. I had the sudden urge to push it back,so I did.

I took the strands that were covering the majority of his face and pushed them back so that his forehead was showing. I gasped when I realized how soft his hair was. It was so silky and felt like lavender. His face looked even more babyish with no hair covering his forehead.

For some reason I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Without noticing it I had started to lean in closer...to smell his hair.

I closed my eyes as I pressed my nose against his hair taking a big whiff of it. It smelt kinda salty...with a hint of...cinnamon?

I figured the saltyness was probably from being in the ocean all the time,but what was the cinnamon? His shampoo?

Realizing what I was doing,I pulled away blushing. I stared at his face and a drop of sweat fell down my face. He wasn't awake...thankfully. If he caught me doing that he would think I was a real pervert. And...I really didn't have an excuse.

I sat up from the couch and swung my legs over so they were hanging off. Might as well make me some breakfast. Just as I was about to stand up,I felt a hand grasp my arm. I turned my head.

"Natsu?" I asked. He still had his eyes closed. I tried to get up once more,but his grip tightened.

"D-Don't leave me...please stay." He mumbled

My eyes softened as I stared at him. "I was just about to go in the kitchen Natsu."

His voice turned into a slight whimper. "No..stay with me. Please...please don't leave me...again...I'm lonely."

This was new to me. Seeing Natsu this way. I knew he was half asleep. He looked so vulnerable. Like he would break at any moment.

"Okay." I said.

I swung my legs back onto the couch and climbed back to the spot I was in before. I laid down,bringing the covers back over me and I faced Natsu,laying my head on the pillow.

"I'm here Natsu. It's okay. I'm by your side." I whispered. Gently stroking his hair.

A small smile grazed his lips as he looked seemingly relaxed.

"Thanks...Lucy." He mumbled. Then it looked as if he had slipped back into a deep slumber.

I smiled back even though he couldn't see it. "I'm just helping out a friend,right?" I whispered

I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep,my hands unconsciously sifting through his hair.

* * *

I awoke to the still bright sun. I looked to my side and Natsu wasn't there. He must have gotten up. I pulled the covers off me,and stood up,stretching. I dug my phone out my pocket and checked the time. It was 11 in the morning.

I blushed as I remembered what had happened earlier that day. For some reason I wouldn't mind seeing that side of Natsu again. He was really cute in a way.

I looked around in search of Natsu. "Natsuuu!" I yelled creating a microphone with my mouth.

He stepped out of his room. "Oh,Lucy. Your finally awake!" He smiled widely and ran over to me. I noticed he had on an ocean blue shirt and white capris,with his signature sandals and bracelet. I also noticed he had on a shark tooth necklace. Hmm...that's different,especially since there is no orange.

"You ready to head out? I don't know if I can stay in this house any longer! It's sooo boring!" He exclaimed

I chuckled. "Yeah, let me just put on my shoes." He nodded and went over to the door and stood there waiting. I walked over to the couch and slipped on my baby blue converses. Just as I was about to walk to the door,I remembered I still had on Natsu's t-shirt.

I carefully took it off,making sure my shirt underneath wouldn't ride up my stomach. I glanced at Natsu to see if he saw or not,but he was facing the door. Looked like he was on his phone.

When I was trying to get it over my head,the scent of it flew straight threw my nose. I felt my cheeks begin to heat up. It smelt so...masculine. It smelt of sweat and cologne. The typical boy smell,but his hair smelt so different. So good...

"What's taking so long,Lucy?!" Natsu yelled. "Oh,coming!" I yelled back. I yanked it off my head and sloppily folded it,throwing it on the couch. I skipped up to the door.

"Kay,I'm ready." I said. "Took,you long enough." He mumbled,pulling the door open. I scowled at his back and we walked out. He turned back around,locking the door.

"I have somewhere important I need to go. It's on the far side of the beach. Where are you going?" He asked me. I glanced around trying to think of where I wanted to go. "I'll just go home. But I can walk on the beach to get there so I'll just follow you."

"Alright." He said. Then he dug his hands in his pockets and started walking down the sidewalk and towards the beach entrance. It was silent most of the time. No one really talked or uttered a word. He didn't even do so much as glance back at me.

"I'll be going now." I said pointing to the hotel that we were walking past. "Kay,see ya Lucy." He smiled warmly at me and gave a gentle wave. "You too." I said then I turned around and started into the lobby of the hotel.

Natsu was acting pretty strange today if you ask me. Usually he would have tried to crack a joke,or tease me or something. Maybe he was thinking about this morning...? Does he even remember that? He was half asleep so there's a 80/50 percent change he doesn't remember. Right now,the odds of him remembering are being outweighed. But he was quiter. He probably just wasn't feeling well or something...

I swiped my key card,and unlocked my door pushing it open. I looked around and I was expecting it to be rowdy but it didn't look like anyone was here.

"Anyone home?" I called. No answer. Well whatever. At least I have the suite to myself. I cooked me some food,which took me about an hour to do,and then I ate which took me another 30 minutes. Seemingly full,I plopped down onto the couch and turned on the t.v.,flipping through the channels. One station particularly caught my eye.

_"So,Natsu. How do you feel about winning yet another competition?" the lady asked him_

_Natsu sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Well,it definitely feels good to know all my hard work has paid off,but I'm not gonna brag about it. I'm definitely not a bragger. After all, everyone tried their best!" He smiled widely._

_All the girls in the audience screamed._

Eek. Fan girls. It seemed as though Natsu was having an interview. No,I think he was on a talk show. Seeing as he was wearing the same outfit I had just saw him on with today, I figured this was live. My eyes also locked onto the corner of the screen and it had the word LIVE on it too. So this was the important thing he had to go do? Seemingly catching my interest,I continued to watch.

_The lady, Mirajane,giggled. " Just what the Natsu we all know and love would say."_

_Natsu waved a playful hand in front of Mira's face. "Oh,stop it. Your making me blush!" He laughed a cute laugh and the crowd oohed and awed. Some started screaming._

_"So,Natsu, what's all the talk been about you having a girlfriend? Is this true?" She asked. "I'm sure everyone wants to know,right?" She held out the speaker to the crowd and everyone yelled_

_"Yeeeeeeeesssssss!"_

_Natsu laughed and repositioned himself in his seat. I saw a look of uncomfort flash across his face,but he quickly masked it with a smile._

_"No,the rumor about me having a girlfriend isn't true. I was just hanging out with a friend that day."_

_Mira pressed on. "Then what was all the talk about you two holding hands? Their were even pictures in the newspaper."_

_"Oh,that." Natsu started. "She's a really slow walker,so I had to drag her places!" Mira started laughing and so did the crowd. Natsu laughed with them._

He really had a good stage presence and knows how to sway a crowd.

_"What about you hugging her in that restaurant? Was that just an act of kindness? Were their any feelings behind it? I'm sure everyone else wants to know too,right?"_

_"Yeeeeeeeesssss!" _

_Natsu brought his hands up to silence the crowd. They quickly obeyed. "I was just defending her. Isn't that what any good friend would do?"_

_Mira nodded her head. "I see. So,Natsu. Is there anyone that's on your mind right now? Someone you like?"_

_Natsu looked over the crowd and then back to Mira._

_"Actually...there is." He said._

My heart started pounding. Natsu liked someone? I wonder who it is? Have I met her before?

_The crowd gasped. Mira seemed to have became seemingly interested. Bringing the microphone closer to Natsu's mouth._

_"There is someone I like." He repeated. "Someone who has been in my mind ever since I met her." His cheeks were a light pink,almost matching the color of his hair._

_Mira's eyes widened. "Care to give us more details? A name? A description?"_

_Natsu shook his head."No can do." He bought a finger up to his lips and made a shushing noise. A devious glint in his eyes._

_"The rest is a secret."_

_I saw Mira's cheeks begin to darken before she turned back to the crowd. "Okay,fol-"_

I switched the t.v. off. So Natsu has someone he likes,huh? Why does that make me feel weird? Why does it make me feel this way to hear that? It makes me feel...sad.

"He looks a lot like your Natsu doesn't he?" I let out a shrill scream and turned around to see Levy standing behind the couch.

"You..what..how...when did you get in here?" I asked

"I've been here the whole time. I just woke up." She explained

"Where'd the rest of them go?" I asked.

Levy shook her head. "Don't dodge the question,Lu-chan. I asked you first." My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"He looks a lot like your Natsu doesn't he? The Natsu we know?" She asked.

"O-Oh. You saw what was on t.v.?" I stuttered. She raised an eyebrow.

"I did. I just find it so amazing that someone who looks just like Natsu was on t.v...what did they say his name was?" She asked looking at me suspiciously.

"E-Erik? I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention." I said trying to make up an excuse.

"Hmmm,that's funny." She started. "Cause he has the same spiky,pink hair,he had the same body and everything. The only thing is his eyes. I've never seen what Natsu's eyes look like cause when I saw him,he had on shades. Maybe it's just all a coincidence?" She asked,eyeing me.

I flinched under her gaze. "Y-Yeah,maybe."

"What color are Natsu's eyes Lucy? I'm pretty sure you would know."

"They're blue." I said plainly. I was really wishing she'd just get off this subject already.

"Blue,huh?" Her eyes flicked down to me once more. "What about this?" She pulled out a newspaper from who knows where and showed me the cover. Of course,it had me and Natsu on the front cover. Damn news reporters,Damn media!

"This girl right here looks strikingly familiar,don't you think?" She pointed to me on the page.

"Actually,I dont think I've ever seen anyone like that before. I mean the picture is so blurry you can't even tell who it is!" I beckoned. Not willing to lose the fight.

She squinted hard at the picture. "Y'know...she kinda looks like...you." Levy turned to me with a smirk on her face. It was almost as if she was challenging me to make up a good excuse. And I sure as hell am gonna.

"Hmm,she does? I don't really see it,Levy. I mean I look like a thousand times better than her. And look,is my butt even that big?" I asked pointing. Goodness,it was so hard to talk about myself.

Levy let out a frustrated yell. "Why won't you just crack already?! I know that's you,Lucy! And I know that's Natsu! It's plain as day. You think a pair of sunglasses is gonna keep me from realizing who he is?!"

I dropped my eyes down to the floor. "It keeps everyone else from realizing..." I mumbled.

"Well,I'm not everyone else." She snapped crossing her arms. "In fact,I'm smarter than the average human. I can't believe you seriously thought I couldn't put two and two together."

"I'm sorry,Levy. It's just that I didn't want anyone to know. I didn't want anything to happen to Natsu..."

She smiled. "Don't worry,your secret is safe with me. I doubt anyone else will realize who he is as long as he keeps on his sunglasses. We could actually test that theory when everyone gets back. And by the way,I don't know where they went either."

I smiled. "Thanks Levy."

Levy's face contorted into a wide grin. "So tell me,what's it like being so close to a celebrity?!"

I rolled my eyes. I should have know the QA session was coming sooner or later...

I sighed. "It's pretty normal,actually. I mean he's just like any other guy,I guess. He really gets on my nerves sometimes though..." I trailed off,thinking about all the times I'd wanted to punch him in the face.

" Does he wear those sunglasses so no one will know who he is?"Levy asked. "Yeah." I replied.

Levy gasped. "Wow...it amazes me how stupid the human race can really be..."She mumbled. I laughed. "I know right?"

"Does he ever take them off?"she asked. I nodded my head. "He does when he's around me. Other than that,he always has them on."

Levy's eyes narrowed. "Oh,so your special,huh?" A sly smile started to form on her face.

"N-No!" I stuttered. "We just know each other. That's all. Why would he have to conceal his identity?"

Levy put a hand on her chin. "When did he tell you who he was?"

I looked down and felt my cheeks grow hot. "When we...first met."

Levy's eyes brightened into a smile. "He's interested in you,Lu-chan! Just think about it—why would he talk to you,out of all the other girls he could possibly talk to? Why did he expose his identity when he knew it could have been risky? Why would he even bother to ask you out,or go with you to all these places?!" She yelled

I blushed ten times over. "Because! He talked to me,cause he saw I wasn't a fan,he told me his name cause it's only common curtesy,he asked me out to cheer me up about moving,and he went with me to the concert because I cooked him breakfast!" I yelled,desperately trying to defend my position.

"Then do you have a reason for staying over at his house last night?" She inquired.

"H-How do you know I was over his house?" I asked. "Cause,what other "friend" do you have that lives over here?"

I huffed. "Okay,you got me." I confessed. "I did stay over his house last night,but that was only because when I woke up it was late and he didn't feel like taking me home."

"Hmm." Levy hummed. "Since when did you ever need anyone to walk you home? You walked around at night all the time in the streets of Tokyo and you beat up anyone who messed with you."

I was at a loss for words. "W-Well..."

"And how come he chose to bring you to_ his house_? He could have easily woken you up at the auditorium and you could have both went your separate ways."

My eyes darted to the side,not willing to look into her eyes. She was making a pretty good point...

"But instead,he carried you all the way to his house,where only _he_ lives and laid you down on his property. Just admit it Lu-chan. He wanted some alone time with you. Cause he's interested. And you are too." She ended smirking triumphantly.

"No he's not! And I'm not either!" I yelled. Feeling flustered.

_"There is someone I like."_

Natsu's words flashed into my mind. "Besides,he already has someone he likes." I told Levy.

Levy lifted up an eyebrow. "Ever thought that someone could be you?"

My eyes widened. Me? No,that wasnt possible. Natsu's a celebrity. A surfer known all over the country. He must like some other famous girl. _"Yeah,that's right." _I convinced myself. There was no way Natsu could like me. Just no way...

"We're back!" My head darted to the door to see the rest of the gang walk in,including my mom.

"Oh,Lucy! Your back!" She exclaimed "Sorry,it took so long for us to come back,I asked the kiddos to help me with grocery shopping."

"I'm not a kid." Gajeel mumured. They sat the bags on the table.

Levy jumped up from the couch and ran into the kitchen.

"I have a question to ask all of you!" She exclaimed,grabbing everyone's attention. When all eyes were on her she spoke.

"Raise your hand if you know someone named Natsu Dragneel."

My eyes widened. Was she gonna reveal his identity to them? Everyone raised their hand.

"I went up against him in a surfing competition last year." Gray said. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Oh yeah,I forgot Gray entered one last year. He's not a surfer,though. He just entered for fun and I was surprised when he came in second. Oh,yeah. Now that I'm thinking about it,Natsu is the one who beat him. I knew his face looked familiar. But why do I feel like I'm forgetting about something? Must not be that important if I can't even remember.

"Juvia has seen him on t.v. a bit." Juvia said.

"As have I." said Erza

"Me too." Jellal chimed in.

"I really don't care..."Gajeel grunted although he had his hand raised which was weird. I guess cause of Levy.

Levy clasped her hands together. "Okay,you remember Lucy's friend right? Y'know the guy who was with us at the festival?"

Our eyes made contact and I was pleading with her not to go any further. She sent back a look that said she knew what she was doing.

"He was a nice guy." Juvia complimented

"What about him?" Gray added digging his hands in his pockets.

"Does he look like Natsu Dragneel to any of you?" Levy asked them

"No way!" Gray exclaimed. "He looked like some kind of secret agent with those shades on,and why would someone like him be associating with Lucy?"

"Yeah,she's to dull for a famous surfer to be hanging out with."Gajeel added.

"Juvia doesn't think that that being Natsu Dragneel is likely."

"Their are tons of pink haired people out there." Added Erza

Jellal stayed silent. He usually always comments something after Erza does. He might be onto something. I always knew he was smart... But dang,did they really have to say it like that? Am I really that dull and boring? I must not be since they hang out with me,but shoot that hurt.

"Well,okay then." Levy said shrugging her shoulders. "I was just trying to convince Lucy that a celebrity wouldn't hang out with her." She started to walk out the kitchen before she sent an apologetic look my way.

Guess what she just said was part of the act. Looks like my friends are people that let sunglasses deceive them.

Everyone else started to disperse into their rooms. I went in the kitchen deciding to put up the groceries since it looked like no one else would.

But I couldn't really pay attention to what I was doing.

Why did the thought of Natsu liking someone else plague my mind?

* * *

**_Authors Note:_**

So alot of you guys asked for her friends and stuff to find out about Natsu being well...Natsu Dragneel. So,I fulfilled your wishes! For the most part,at least. As you can see,Lucy's friends and a majority of the population have no idea that he's Natsu Dragneel. JUST because he wears a pair of shades/sunglasses.

I sorta wanted it to be like Sailor Moon,cause all she is wearing is a different outfit,yet no one can tell it's her. I mean,we wear different outfits all the time! Expect,for all you dirty people out there...

Anyways,hope the chapter was at least a bit interesting. **I felt as though it was kinda boring...and if a lot of you feel like this wasn't enough,I can update either tomorrow or the day after!**

**So...leave a review and tell me what you thought! I can almost imagine you all squealing on what I have written in the next chapter...**


	10. A Rainy Day—In and Out

Authors Note:

I think a lot of you will be either really happy,or really mad with this chapter. I'll also take what you said, DoodlePig1220,and add it into one of my later chapters! Not right now,though.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the legend in this chapter. I got it from the anime Mermaid Melody. Creation of Michiko Yokote. After all,this story is pretty much based on that show,so things will be similar.

**Disclaimer: **I know I don't do this a lot,but I've realized I should. I don't own Fairy Tail in any way. Everything belongs to Hiro Mashima besides of course,my story and my OC's.

Enjoy!

* * *

_A Surfers Love _

_Chapter 10_

I reached into the bag to take out the box of macaroni. Luckily,this was the last grocery I had to put up. Pushing the box into a cabinet,I let out a sigh. My head was hurting. To much had happened in one day.

I turned around to the sound of footsteps. My mom walked into the kitchen and took a seat,staring at me. I flinched under her gaze.

"Umm,do you need something,mom?" I asked

She smiled widely. "I'm so glad you asked! Actually I've been reading around some and I found out there is a cave here that grants your love wishes!"

"A cave?" I questioned. "There is no such thing as a cave that grants your wishes,mom." I said sweat dropping.

"Levy-chann!" She yelled. A minute or so later,Levy walked into the kitchen. "Yes, Mrs. Heartfilia?"

"I want to tell you and Lucy and old legend. It grants you love wishes!"

"It does?!"Levy screeched. "That mean me and Gajeel can always be together!"

I smacked my lips in annoyance,rolling my eyes. All this talk about love was making me sick.

"So what is it?" I asked,rather impatiently.

Layla cleared her throat.

"Long ago,there was a mermaid who loved a kind-hearted man who lived on the Earth,as in soil. Although she loved him,she could not reveal herself,for if she did,she would turn into bubbles and disappear. On the night of a raging storm,the mermaid saw the one she loved being ravaged by the oceans cruel waves. Afraid that he would go overboard,and drown,the mermaid threw away her life to save him. She swam over to the small boat the man was in and led him to safety,which was a small cave in the side of a rocky cliff."

Levy's eyes widened. "Did the mermaid disappear?"

My mom shook her head. "No one knows. That's where the story ends."

Levy furrowed her eyebrows. "She had to have lived,right? I mean she loved that man so much she risked her life. If she did disappear...I'm sure her heart still lives in that cave."

"There's more." Layla said. Levy hushed down and tuned in.

"The cave is usually filled with water,but once a year,the tide shrinks so that you can go in it. You take a candle and write you and your lover,or loved one's names on it, then light the candle. You make a wish,pray for what you want to happen, and if the candle stays burning until the tide comes up again and fills the cave,your wish will be granted."

"When is it?"The words slipped out my mouth. I blushed as I bought a hand up to my face. Why did I say that so eagerly?

"It's in about a week. On July 8th. You only have that day,though,because the next day the tide will have covered up the cave once more."

Levys eyes glittered. "We have to go,Lu-chan! We just have to go!"

My eyes flickered,everywhere but to Levys face. "But I don't have anyone I like..."

"You have Natsu." Levy inquired.

"Natsu?" Layla's face scrunched in confusion.

"N-No one!" I yelled.

She just chuckled. "You've finally found one!"

I put a hand on my chin,thinking hard. I did want to go,but what would I write on the candle? Then and idea clicked in my head. It did say it will grant any love wish,right? Here is what I will write on the candle.

_Natsu Dragneel and His Loved One_

There were no rules saying I couldn't wish for my friends happiness,right? I'm pretty sure Natsu's wish would be to get with that girl,whoever she is.

"So are you coming with me,Lu-chan?"

"Yeah." I agreed. "I've figured out what I'm gonna write."

"Yayyy!" Levy exclaimed,jumping up and down. "Then its decided! We're going to the mermaid cave next week!"

"Oh,one more thing." Layla chimed in.

"You have to go with whoever the person is you write on the candle."

My mouth dropped open. That meant I would have to go with Natsu!

* * *

I walked around on the beach looking for Natsu. I had woke up extra early,just so I could catch him while he was surfing. I continued to walk down the shoreline until I saw a figure moving in the waves.

I quickly ran to him,knowing it was Natsu. When I arrived I was awestruck by the surfing techniques he was doing. He glided in the waves,riding up it and flying up into the air,grabbing the tip of his board and doing a 360 spin landing gracefully back into the water. I took a seat in the sand deciding not to interrupt him this time. He was so focused,he hadn't even noticed I was there.

As he continued to practice,I noticed that surfing was a lot like skateboarding. Only,you were on the water instead of land.

After about an hour,he started gliding towards the shore,swooping and swerving on his board. He looked up and his eyes widened.

"Lucy!" He yelled. He jumped off his board and started running through the water till he was in front of me. It's amazing how fast he can run in water.

He was panting hard,like a dog. I started laughing. "Y-You didnt have to run here!" I said in between giggles. He smiled. "I wanted to see you as soon a possible."

I stopped laughing as I felt my cheeks begin to heat up. He just wanted to see me cause I'm a friend,right? Yeah,I'm his friend. After all,he already has someone he likes. My chest started to feel funny as I remembered his expression as he confessed on t.v. He was blushing so cutely.

Natsu moved over to his bag that was laying on the sand and pulled out a towel. Then he started to dry off his hair. It smelt salty.

"You okay? You're looking kind of weird." He asked,eyeing me suspiciously.

"Yeah,I was just thinking about something." I replied looking away from him.

"Mmm,can't be that important if it's you we're talking about." He ended it off with a smirk,his eyes locking on me. He was waiting on a reaction,but I wasn't gonna give him the one he was expecting.

"Yeah,your right. It actually wasn't that important. Matter of fact,I'll stop thinking about it right now. It was really just a waste of my brain power anyways." I sent him a menacing look back,trying to signal it was him I was talking about.

After a while of our staring contest,he turned away,huffing. "Hmph. Whatever."

I sent him a triumphant smirk. "Glad to know that you know your place."

I felt a drop of water fall on my nose. Then another,and another one. I looked up at the sky. When did all these clouds get here?

"Ah! Lucy,it's raining! I'm gonna get my hair wet!" Natsu yelled,shielding his head. "You get wet all the time! You just got out the ocean." I reasoned.

"Whatever. Come on,we gotta go!" He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder,then he grabbed my wrist and started pulling me across the beach. Before,I knew it,the rain had started pouring. It was raining so hard,it was getting difficult to see.

I saw something shimmer in the distance. "Natsu,I think their is a shed up ahead!" I ran ahead of him,leading the way. It was getting harder and harder to run with wet sand sloshing under my feet,and all the water was making my clothes weigh more than they should.

We neared the door to the shed,and I yanked it open,diving inside. Natsu quickly followed behind me,closing the door shut as rain pelted against it,asking to come in. Thunder roared loudly in the distance.

I took a deep breath as I slumped up against the wall. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back,definitely not enjoying the cold coursing through my body. I had been soaked to the bone. I grabbed the hem of my shirt and tried to ring out as much water as I could,but I was still wet,and cold.

I looked over at Natsu who was looking out the window. "Doesn't look like its gonna let up any time soon." His hair was still pretty much spiky,surprisingly,but his bangs were matted to his forehead and out of place.

"Did you know it was gonna storm?" I asked tiredly. "I had no idea." He replied.

Shivers started to run through my body as I tried to rub my arms for warmth,but they were just as cold and damp. My teeth began to chatter and my nose was starting to run.

I looked around for something to warm me up,but I didn't see anything. Natsu was perched on the other wall,just sitting there. Then,something caught my eye. A pile of wood was in the corner. I could make a fire!

"You got a lighter,Natsu?" I asked him. "Yeah." He reached in his bag and tossed me his lighter. I got up and bought the wood in the middle of the shed,throwing it in the small pit that was already made. I lit the top few pieces and watched the fire spread,till it became bigger and bigger,giving off a warm light. Not to mention heat.

I sat there,trying to warm up,but nothing seemed to be working. I was still freezing cold. At some point,Natsu had came over and sat on the opposite side of me,by the fire.

"ACHOOOO!" I sneezed,snot starting to drip out my nose,I sucked it back up. I saw Natsu's forest green eyes light up as he turned up his head to look at me. The fire was creating different hues of color on his face,and made his eyes sparkle.

"You should maybe...undress." he whispered. I looked at him indifferently. "I mean you don't wanna catch a cold,do you?"he replied quietly. "If it makes you feel better, I-I'll do it too."

My eyes widened in shock as my cheeks began to burn. I'm not sure if I was blushing or if it was because of the fire. I took in account,my freezing body and I decided.

"Okay..." I whispered. He dug in his bag and threw a towel at me. "Use that to cover yourself up,once your done."

I looked down at the towel he threw at me,then back at him. "T-Turn around okay? Don't go acting like a pervert while I'm changing."

A strained laugh escaped his lips. "I'll try not to."

I didn't know if he was serious or if he was just playing when he said that. He turned around and faced the wall. I turned around to face the wall opposite of him,then glanced back at him. "I'm starting. Don't turn around or I swear you won't live to see tomorrow!" I threatened.

"Yes mam." He responded.

My cheeks were ablaze,they seemed like they had been set on fire as I shimmied my cold,damp clothes off my body. Now,I was fully naked. I glanced back at Natsu to see his toned back come into view. He was sliding his body suit off his body. He must have been changing too. When his suit had came down to his hips,I turned around. Afraid that I would not be innocent anymore if I continued to look.

I told him not to look and I end up looking at him. I'm the pervert!

I took the towel and wrapped it around my body,covering up all indecent parts. Luckily,this towel stopped just above my knees so it was more like I was wearing a dress,instead of a towel.

"Are you done?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yeah,are you?" he asked. "Yeah,I'm done." I replied. We both turned around and I saw his face flush in a dark pink color. He quickly covered up his face and sat down,looking anywhere but me.

I was pretty sure my cheeks were dark too,seeing as he was just in a pair of shorts. You'd think I'd be used to it by now. I sat down too,finally taking in the fire's warmth. It felt so good against my bare skin. But this silence did not. It was awkward and very uncomfortable. It was gonna make me go crazy! We sat in silence for what felt like another decade,until I finally decided to break it.

"N-Natsu,I saw your umm interview." I said. I mentally slapped myself. Of all things I had to say that!

"Oh,you saw?" He asked quietly.

I nodded my head. "So you have someone you like?" I asked quite eager to hear it from his mouth.

He scratched his nose and looked down bashfully. "Yeah,I do."

For some reason,that action angered me.

"What's she like?" I asked,my voice a bit strained.

"Well,she's really cute and she's a real fighter. She does what's on her mind and doesn't care what people think about her. She's a really brave girl." His cheeks were a slight pink color and his gaze looked filled with love. It angered me that he was like this when talking about her.

"That's nice,I guess." I replied. "When are you gonna tell her you like her?" Natsu looked down and started fiddling with his fingers.

"Well,I want that day to be special. Y'know,a day where I can really show how much I care for her. Maybe the day she realizes I have these feelings for her..." His eyes flickered to me,then he looked out the window. What was that for? Does he want me to say something? Is he mocking me? Somehow,I felt my anger getting the best of me.

I snickered. "It's so funny how you start acting like some high school girl when you talk about "the love of your life", I said emphasizing the phrase.

He glared at me. "I can't sound happy when I'm talking about the girl I like?" He defended.

"No,you can't." I replied

"Then what am I suppose to be? Sad? Angry? Why would I be anything but happy when I'm talking about someone I like?"

"Oh,I dont know." I said sarcastically,looking up in irritation and rolling my eyes. "Maybe because the girl you like doesn't like you back. Maybe she doesn't care about you. Maybe she doesn't _want you." _I spat at him.

His eyes filled with a look of pain as he looked down,and didn't utter a word. "Did I do something wrong to you,Lucy?" He asked in a quiet voice.

My breath hitched in my throat,not knowing what to say. "Why are you mad at me?!" He yelled,his voice rising. "Why are you so mad that your trying to make me feel lower than I am?!"

"Because,it's annoying!" I yelled. "How you just magically change when you even think about this girl! How you always blush and utter crap when she's mentioned!"

I stood up abruptly. "It's so annoying!"

Natsu stood up too,slowly walking towards me,making me back away from him. His face was contorted into an angry glare. "Are you jealous or something,Lucy?!" He said backing me up against the wall and slamming a hand beside my head. I slightly flinched,but didn't back away.

"Are you jealous? Are you? Why are you suddenly bashing me for liking a girl? Are you afraid it's not you?!" He yelled. The candlelight flickered on and off his face.

"Why would I be jealous?!" I yelled shutting my eyes. "All you do is annoy me and tease me and just act stupid all the ti—!"

My eyes widened as I felt moist,hot lips slam against mines,pushing me further into the wall. My eyes squeezed shut. Natsu was kissing me. He was _kissing me_. His lips were so demanding and rough with mines...it felt like he was pouring all his frustrations into it.

I tried to back away from him. I didn't want my first kiss to be filled with frustration and anger. I wanted love and passion.

He moved his lips,deepening the kiss,becoming more dominant over mines. It's like he was telling me that I was his,and he could do what he wanted with me. I felt my knees go weak as tears started to stream down my face.

I didn't want it like this,no,I didn't want my first kiss with Natsu to be like this!

I bought my hand up...

**_SLAP!_**

I hit him right across the cheek,his head whirred to the side as a red mark started to form on his face. I stared at him as I wrapped the towel tighter around my body,breathing heavily. Seeing him like this made me want to cry more. He looked so confused...so frustrated. More tears streamed down my face as I bit my lip,and ran out the shed.

* * *

**A/N Yes,everyone appload Lucy for being stupid. But hey,they finally kissed right? At least that's a good thing... Whoo really had fun writing this chapter,and can't wait to see what you guys think about it!**


	11. Emotions

Yayy! I'm so glad I got so many reviews last chapter! XD I swear I almost cried.(from happiness) Thanks for your feedback! It seems a lot of you were really surprised with what happened. I was pretty much expecting that.

I wrote this chapter listening to "I Will" by Chelsey,the piano version. Since it would be hard to write while someone is singing(for me). It's a main track in the anime Ao Haru Ride,and it's really beautiful. The anime is great! So I'm recommending it to you.

Anyways,hope you guys like this chapter!

* * *

_A Surfers Love_

_Chapter 11_

_I bit my lip,and ran out the shed._

Tears streamed down my face as I ran through the rain. I was getting soaked all over again,but I didn't care. At least the rain shielded my tears. Why? Why?! Why?! WHY?!

Why did this have to happen...Natsu...why did you kiss me? I'm so confused,I'm so scared,I'm so frustrated! Sobs escaped my lips as I ran down the wet,sloshy beach. Not watching where I was going,I tripped over something and then toppled into the sand,head first.

My body skidded across the ground,making my once white towel,a dirty blonde color. I'm pretty sure my face had a few scratches cause it was burning and throbbing painfully. I just laid there in the sand,taking in everything that had happened.

There was no way I could be mad at Natsu. Ok,maybe a little. But I was more mad at myself than anything.

I reached my hand out and grabbed a fistful of sand and I threw it angrily,miserably,in an attempt to let out my frustrations. I laid there,continuously banging my hands against the wet sand,rain pelting onto my body,and tears falling freely out my eyes.

This is what I deserve...

This is what was bought back upon me for saying all those things to him...all those things to Natsu!

I said such hurtful and mean things to him,knowing I was hurting him. Knowing I was making him feel pain. I'm despicable,pathetic. I don't even know why I got so mad.

I don't know what came over me...I just don't know...

_"Are you jealous Lucy? Are you afraid it's not you?!"_

Natsu's words echoed in my mind. Am I jealous? Am I afraid? I couldn't even answer those questions myself. What do I feel for Natsu? He's just my friend right?

But if he's just a friend...why did he kiss me? Doesn't he like someone else?

This is wrong...it's just all so wrong...I don't understand. I don't get it. What am I supposed to do?!

More tears streamed down my face as I sat up,clutching more sand in my hands and throwing it. I let out a desperate wail. I don't like feeling like this. I don't like...feeling this way. So confused,so torn.

All because of a kiss. All because of a fight. A fight with one person.

A fight with Natsu.

I clutched my face as I sat there,silent sobs escaping my lips.

Why was I crying so much? Why was I in so much pain? I've never cried like this. Never in my _life_. So why now? What's making me feel this way? So miserable.

I'm Lucy Heartfilia. She's not a crybaby. She's not a coward who runs away. She's not _weak_. She's strong,brave,and fierce.

I let out a sigh as I looked up at the gray,clouded sky. It's like the world was crying with me,sharing my pain. I looked up at the sky hopelessly as I bit my bottom lip.

What do I do now? How will I ever face Natsu again?

Please...someone answer me.

...

I slumped up the steps to our room. I didn't mind all the stares I was getting. I mean who wouldn't stare at someone who looks like the walking dead and is only dressed in a towel? A dirty one at that. I'm surprised no one had tried to jump me,or worse.

I reached the room and swiped my key card,pushing the door open. What I needed right now was a shower. A long one at that.

I dragged myself past the living room and into mines. Erza was perched on the bed,eating some strawberry cake as she watched t.v. Her gaze directed to me when I creaked the door open.

Her eyes widened in shock as she set her cake down on the bedside table and jumped up to approach me.

"Lucy! What happened?! Are you okay?" She asked in a panicked voice. I gave a slight nod of my head as I slumped onto the carpeted floor. She quickly knelt down beside me.

"Goodness,your a mess. What happened? What were you doing?"She asked shaking my shoulders.

"Natsu...he..he kissed me." I mumbled

A dark aura spread around her body. "And I told him not to hurt you! I swear when I get a hold of him I'm gonna beat his face in." She whispered threateningly cracking her knuckles.

"No,Erza. It's okay. If anything,it's him who got hurt. I said terrible things to him. I don't know what I should do! He's in so much pain already. He's got enough to worry about...and I didn't even take it into consideration. I just added to it." I whimpered,feeling ashamed of myself.

Erza wrapped me into a hug,despite the fact she was getting sand all over her body.

"Did you...want him to kiss you?" She asked in a soft voice.

I closed my eyes tightly. "I don't...I can't...I don't know. I just don't...know." I whispered.

She pulled away from me and stared me into the eyes. "I was this way with Jellal,believe it or not. I was just like you before I found my answers. Confused,frustrated,in pain. I understand what your going through." She stroked my hair softly.

"But Lucy...this feeling will never go away if you can't even answers your questions. You'll just always be confused. Throughout my journey...I learned that as long as I have the answer to _this_ one question,I can have an answer to them all."

I turned my gaze to look into her eyes. "What is it?"

She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Lucy...do you like him? Natsu?"

My eyes widened in shock,and they immediately shot to the ground. I felt my cheeks begin to heat. Do I like Natsu? What is it like to 'like' someone? Is the emotions I'm feeling right now,what you have when your in love? I'm still so confused.

"I don't know. I really,don't know,Erza." I sighed.

She stood up. "Once you find your answer...your _real _answer,let me know okay?" She plopped back onto the bed and continued to eat her cake. "Oh,and take a shower. All that dirt and stuff on you is not very pretty." She said playfully._  
_

I laughed at her carefree ness. I was gonna decide. I was gonna find my answer,I was gonna figure out if I liked Natsu or not,today.

I ran into the bathroom,freshening up and putting on one of my sun dresses. It was yellow with white flowers on it,and stopped a few inches above my knees. I paired it with a pair of white flip flops and put my hair up into a messy bun,applying a small amount of lip gloss.

If I was gonna find answers...I was gonna do it confidently. I ran out the bathroom with a huge smile on my face. "Thanks Erza!" I yelled before I disappeared out the door.

...

I ran through the now,partially dry sand. My feet led me to my destination. I didn't know where I was going. The only thought running though my mind was finding Natsu. As soon as possible. As quick as my feet could take me. As far as the eyes could go.

Pants erupted from my lips as I ran endlessly. I closed my eyes and felt the wind course through my hair,over my legs,over my entire being.

When I opened my eyes,I looked at the place my feet had bought me. My eyes widened as a blush formed on my cheeks. It seemed that the wind blew perfectly at that moment—the moment I saw _him._

The moment I saw Natsu.

I walked a few steps till I was right beside him. His gaze was directed at the clear blue ocean,a distance on his face. It looked as though he was deep in thought.

"Natsu?" I questioned hesitantly. His head turned so that he was staring at me. His eyes looked lifeless.

I took a seat beside him,our eye contact never breaking. "Natsu?" I questioned once again.

Still the same lifeless,emotionless look. Although he was staring directly into my eyes,it was as though he was looking at nothing at all. My heart clenched as a frown started to form on my face.

I waved my hands in front of his face to try to get his attention,still no reaction.

"Natsu..please snap out of it..." I begged.

Seeing as nothing was working,I closed my eyes and leaned in closer. Closer...and closer...till my lips connected with his cheek.

In that instance,I heard a gasp escape from his lips,and felt the cheek my lips were in contact with,get warmer.

I slowly pulled away and looked into his eyes. They were finally full of...life. A smile formed on my face as he stared back at me. Now he was actually looking at _me_.

"Lucy..."he whispered. His eyes became glassy as he buried his head in my neck,hugging me tightly to his chest.

"Lucy...Lucy,I'm so sorry! I'm so so sorry!" He apologized,holding me tighter.

I returned the hug,unconsciously taking a whiff of his hair. It smelt of sweet cinnamon.

"There's no reason for you to be sorry..." I whispered. "It's my fault. Everything..."

I gripped onto his shirt tighter,as tears threatened to fall out my eyes.

"I'm so sorry,Natsu. I said all those mean,hurtful things to you,made fun of you...I'm terrible." I sobbed. The tears forcing their way out.

"No your not." He said softly. "Your great,Lucy." He pulled away and smiled at me.

_Joy._

I smiled back. But one question was still nagging at my mind.

"Why...Why did you kiss me?" I asked him.

He looked down and started fiddling with his fingers.

"Cause...I...I didn't want you talking about her...the girl I like. So I thought that was the only way to get you to stop talking."

_Sadness._

"It angered me that you were talking about her...when you don't even know who she is." He finished.

_Anger._

"Oh,I see." I said, A small smile, forming on my face. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. I won't say anything about her again."

I looked out over the ocean. "Wanna come with me to the mermaid cave next week?"

"You mean that legend everyone has been talking about?" He asked

I nodded my head,then I turned to look at him. A wide grin was spread across his face. "Sure! I'll go with you,Lucy."

_Happiness._

I smiled widely. "You will? Thanks Natsu!" I exclaimed,wrapping him in yet another hug. A slight 'oof' escaped his lips. Before he surprisingly returned it,wrapping his arms around my back. I feel my cheeks begin to warm.

"They're holding another surfing competition tomorrow. Mind coming to watch me?" He whispers against my ear. The contact makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

_Love._

"You betcha!" I replied. "I'll make sure to come!" I said smiling against his neck. A warm laughs erupts from his lips.

"I'll see you there, then."

_Determination._

I was gonna win this. Against whoever this girl was that Natsu liked. I was gonna capture his heart just like he's captured mine.

Cause I've found my answer...the answer to all these emotions...

I'm in love...with Natsu Dragneel.


	12. Constellations

_Oh,gosh. Super long chapter ahead! I hope it's not to boring,but it will get more heated in future chapters. I'm actually still debating on a few things,so we'll see._

_Oh,and I just gotta talk about that new Fairy Tail ending. I love it! Omg,the people sing so good to me. And I swear I squealed at the end when Natsu started running with Lucy,even though after that they showed everyone else...but who cares! It's NaLu time! _

_I didn't really like the opening though,I mean it was mediocre at best,and they really could've kept out the Erza fan service. :/ But I guess they didn't really put a lot of money into a filler opening anyways,so I forgive them._

_Okay,for those of you who actually took the time to read this,here's the chapter!_

* * *

_Surfers Love_

_Chapter 12_

The breeze blew through my hair as I stared at the now setting sun. I looked to my right and saw Natsu had laid back in the sand with his hands folded behind his head,and his eyes were closed. The wind blew light wisps of hair flying across his face. I continued to stare,bewildered.

It just felt so weird. You would think if I realize I like him,I would see him in a different light,or I would feel nervous or awkward when I'm around him,but I don't feel any of that. It just all feels the same,like I'm the same old Lucy,and he's the same old Natsu. Although,I did feel as though a new fire had been lit inside me. Like,now that I've realized these feelings I have for him,I should do something. _Something_ to _convey._

I closed my eyes and laid down beside him,mimicking his position. I took a deep breath of the salty and refreshing air,as I seemingly relaxed. I could feel the warmth radiating off of Natsu's body,probably because we were so close to each other.

A content smile spread across my face. I wouldn't mind if everyday we just had a time of peace like this. I could barely believe the events of yesterday actually happened.

"Lucy?" Natsu's voice came out soft. Slightly above a whisper. It sent a small shudder through my body,and I jumped a little since I was caught off gaurd.

"Hmm?" I hummed in response,eyes still closed.

I heard shuffling,and felt the warmth leave my body. "Why were you so close to me?" He asked

My eyebrows scrunched in confusion,as my eyes shot open,meeting forest green orbs. He was so close...so close I could feel his breath fanning over my lips.

"Ahhhh!" I yelled,jolting up,knocking our foreheads together. "Nnhhgg!" Natsu groaned clutching his forehead as his face scrunched in pain,he leaned one hand back in the sand to steady himself.

I bit my lip to hold in my discontent moan of pain. "What kind of question is that?!" I yelled,I felt my face begin to grow hot.

He crossed his arms and looked to the side. "Well,I just need my personal space,y'know," he looked down as his lips pressed into a tight line. "And if your so close...I'll start to think about yesterday..." He buried his face in his hands.

Oh...he was talking about when I had to strip and wear just a towel... Oh gosh. When I actually think about it, that sounds a lot more intimate than it should.

I brought my hands up to my cheeks and gave them light slaps. I was positive my face was as red as a tomato!

Natsu bought his hands off his face and ran them through his hair,pushing his bangs off his forehead. I couldn't help but think he looked cuter this way.

A smirk spread across his face as he trained his eyes on me.

I slightly flinched since his gaze was so intent. "W-What are you staring at?!" I exclaimed,sending him a glare.

"You were sitting so close,cause you can't get enough of me. You just can't stand being away from me,can you?" He asked in a deep,husky voice.

My eyebrow twitched. Here he goes again,always playing with my emotions. One moment he's all sweat and cute,and the next moment I just feel like punching him in the face.

"What's up with you,Natsu?" I asked,my voice coming out a bit strained. "Why are you always teasing me,and saying that I like you?"

Natsu shrugged. "Cause,it's fun to see your expressions. It's amusing."

I clutched my fists at my sides. So to him this is all just a big game,just a circus act. Has he ever thought that his words actually affect me? Has he ever even thought that I actually might like him?

"I don't understand you,Natsu. Not one bit. One moment your all kind and sweet to me,and then the next moment your like this. I just don't understand what's wrong with you! Stop asking me questions,and saying that I like you,cause I don't. I just see you as a friend and nothing else." The words spewed out my mouth without me realizing what I had said. I had just lied through my teeth.

Natsu raised a hand in front of his face. "Woah,calm down. You know I was just joking,Lucy."

I crossed my arms and huffed. "That'd exactly the problem..." I muttered.

"Did you say something?" Natsu asked me. I nodded my head furiously. "Your just imaging things!"

"You said your having a surfing competition tomorrow,didn't you?" I asked him,changing the subject. He nodded his head. "Yep,I heard the North's Winner is gonna be competing too! It's gonna be a load of fun!" Natsu exclaimed,with a gleam in his eyes.

"The North's?" I asked.

"It's the winner from North America. His name is Loke Celestial." A grin spread across Natsu's face. "I can't wait to see his moves!"

A small giggle escaped my lips. It was a funny sight seeing Natsu this happy,especially since he's gonna be going against a tough competitor.

Natsu pouted. "What are you laughing at?"

"I mean,wouldn't you be nervous or scared to go against the North's winner? Afraid that there will be a higher chance of you losing?" I asked him.

A wide smile stretched across his face,as his eyes shined the brightest I had ever seen them. "Afraid? Nervous? No,I'm anything but that!" A laugh erupted from his lips.

"This is what I live for,Lucy. Surfing. Competition. If there is no one on my level,it would be no fun. So when I hear that the Winner from the North is coming here,do you know how excited I get?"

I slightly shook my head,no.

He looked up into the air,and stretched his arms out wide.

"I get so excited that my happiness could fill the entire sky!"

I looked up at the sky,too and I just now noticed that nighttime had began,and stars littered the sky. They twinkled different hues of colors;red,green,silver. You could even see the Milky Way,a whole trail of nebula's,clusters,and galaxies lied within it.

I let out a breath from awe. "Wow...it's beautiful..." I whispered. Without realizing it,I unconsciously laid back down,in the sand,so that the stars were the only things in my point of view. It felt like I was amongst them,flying through the vast constellations.

A smile spread across my face. I pointed one of my fingers towards a certain one. "Y'know,that's Aquarius!" I exclaimed.

"What is?" Natsu asked,trying to pinpoint where my finger was pointed at.

"The constellation,Aquarius. Its one of the 12 Zodiacs. And if we had a telescope,we would be able to see the Saturn and Helix Nebulas that are within it." I continued to chat on happily.

"It's said that the constellation represents the Babylonian god,Ea,which is said to be holding a vase overflowing with water. And thats Capricornus—!"

"You sure do know a lot about stars,don't you?" Natsu asked

I looked down,noticing how much of a blabber mouth I was being before. He was probably getting bored. "I'm sorry." I mumbled. "I didn't mean to talk so much."

"Nah,it's actually pretty interesting. I just learned a few things,and..." He paused for a second.

"Somehow,I feel like this is more enjoyable with you here,Lucy." Natsu whispered,letting out a deep sigh. At some point,he had laid down beside me.

I felt my cheeks begin to heat as my heart beat quickened.

"Like it's all the more,better." Natsu continued,in a small,soft voice.

"Me too." I whispered. I turned my head so that I was staring at him,instead of the sky.

"Getting off of the subject of stars,how bout I make you a bento? Y'know,a boost of stamina for the big game tomorrow?"

"Yeah,I'd like that." He muttered. A small smile spreading across his face.

"But,I'll only eat it if I win."

A discontent moan escaped my lips. "But what's the point if you don't eat it before your turn comes?"

He turned his head so that it was facing mines. My eyes widened,as I blushed from our proximity. His eyes were filled with a warm gaze,and for some reason,I felt like I was the only person who had seen it. It made me feel special.

"Cause,I want it to be my prize for my victory. A metal or trophy isn't gonna make me nearly as happy as if I had one of your home cooked meals,Lucy. I want to eat it with you,laughing and playing,and joking around,not being all serious or nervous because your worried I might not win." He answered,still speaking softly. Just hearing his voice,made my heart pound even quicker than it was before.

I still couldn't speak,cause I was too shocked. When Natsu does things like this,it always makes me misunderstand. Always makes me think that he actually _likes_ me. But I know that's not true,it never could be.

"Okay. But make sure to win,okay? I really wouldn't want to make it for no reason." I inquired.

He chuckled. "Yeah,I'll make sure of it."

Our bodies were so close to each other's. Our shoulders were pressed against each other's, and our hands were just _millimeters_ away. I felt that now,was the right time to do it. I could do it right?

I slowly inched my hand closer. I looked at Natsu's face to see his eyes were closed. Feeling more determined,I inched them closer,and closer. When my hand was finally close enough,I cupped my hand around his,as the warmth spread through my hands,and up my arms.

A content sigh escaped my lips. Natsu's hands were suprisingly rough. They actually felt like a _man's_ hands. Well,he was 18,right? So, I guess it was logical.

A surprised grunt came from deep within Natsu's throat. As he slowly opened his eyes. "Lucy,what are you doing?"

"My hands were feeling cold,and I knew you were always warm so..."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Uh-huh." I confirmed.

"Hmm,whatever then." Then,he closed his eyes once again.

A wide smile spread across my face,as I had to try my best not to giggle. I was feeling very happy right now. For one,he didn't even attempt to let go of my hand,and he didn't tell me to let go.

And I think his grip...May have tightened just a little.

* * *

"Levy! Gray! Come on!" I yelled,waiting at the door.

"Coming!"

"Hold your horses,sheesh." Gray slung his bag across his shoulder and he strode to the door. Levy soon came skipping behind him,with her own bag of supplies.

I had my bag slung around my neck, which held a picnic sheet,and other things. I had Natsu's bento in my other hand.

"So why are you coming again?" I asked Gray.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I heard Natsu Dragneel was gonna be competing in this one. It's been a while since I've seen him. It was way back when I went to California last time,and I guess you could say we became pretty good friends." He dug his hands in the pockets of his blue shorts,and wore a bored expression.

"Okay,then. Are you not bringing Juvia?" I asked him

His face twisted into a look of horror as he waved his hands in front of his face,wildly. "No! Do NOT go and wake up Juvia! I really don't want to have to take glances behind my shoulder every minute."

"And Levy,your coming for support right?"

She smiled and gave a swift nod of her head. "Anything,to help my best friend claim her love!"

"He's not my love!" I shot at her,feeling embarrassed since Gray was standing there eying me down.

"Your love?" He raised and eyebrow

"It's nothing." I snapped,twisting the door open and walking out.

We did our usual routine of finding our way out of the hotel,before we stepped out onto the white,hot sand on the beach.

"Shit,why is this sand so god damn hot? My feet are about to melt!" Gray cursed,slightly wincing.

"Language,Gray." I reminded him.

"It's not that bad Gray,get over it." Levy sweat dropped,giving him a tap on the back.

I shielded my eyes from the sun,looking for the site.

Right away,you could tell where the competition was being held. You could hear the commotion from miles away.

"I think it's over there." I said,pointing to it.

We quickly ran to it,being swept into the crowd of people. One guys elbow dug into my stomach.

"Ouch!" I yelled.

Seeing as his elbow was only going in further,I pushed him out of my way,knocking him into someone else.

"Ow,what was that for?!" He yelled.

I sent him a glare. "For touching me."

Levy laid a hand on my shoulder. "I'm pretty sure it was on accident,Lu-chan."

I huffed and pushed through the crowd some more. "Where are we going? It's so freaking crowded,and it's making me even hotter." Gray complained.

"Natsu said he would be at that red tent over there." I pointed beyond the crowd. "All we have to do is make it there."

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!" Defeaning screams rung through the air as I shielded my ears in a desperate attempt to drown them out.

My head shot up. Was Natsu over there?

"It's the North's Champion!" One girl yelled

"Where is he? Where is he?!" Another yelled

"Its Loke Celestial! He's so charming and amazing!"

Gray groaned in disgust. "Why is he getting all the attention? I'm here too y'know," He muttered.

The North's Champion? That's who Natsu was talking about,yesterday! I strained my head,before I think—I think I saw him.

Lots of girls were strapped onto his arms and crowded around him. He had orange,spiky hair,wore blue-ish shades,and a black and gold body suit.

He was ogling all the girls,whispering sweet nothings into their ears. He was also sending out a lot of lame pickup lines,and kissing some girls on the cheeks,making them faint.

Ewww,a playboy.

He continued to walk my way,not even realizing I was standing there. Then,suddenly,his eyes trained on me,and then he looked at my bento.

A smirk spread across his face. I suppose it was suppose to be "sexy".

"Aww,you made me lunch? Your not only beautiful on the outside,but your heart must be made out of pure gold."

"Actually,it's made out of cardiac muscle." I corrected.

"And your smart,too. Your just right." He whispered,leaning in closer. His hands somehow,snuck into my bento,taking out 3 egg omelets and plopping them into his mouth.

A gasp escaped from my lips as I watched him chew the omelets _I_ had made. For Natsu,not him.

Anger started to build up inside me,and before he could swallow,I slapped him right across the cheek,with quite a bit of force.

The food flew straight out his mouth and onto the sand. His expression was priceless. I wish I would have bought my camera!

I angrily kicked sand over the bits of food and gave it a hard stomp,then I sent him a glare.

"If you wanna eat it so bad,why don't you dig it up?" I kicked another pile of sand over it,before I crossed my arms in satisfaction.

"Learn not to mess with me. And especially don't take things that aren't yours."

He quickly recovered as an amused look covered his face. "Mmm,well I like fiesty girls too. Y'know,some that will really give me a kick."

He put a hand on his chin as he checked me out. "In your case,I guess I would mean that literally."

I scoffed as I turned on my heels. "Come on,Levy,Gray. We don't have time to deal with jocks like this."

"Woah,I'm not your posse." Gray commented,but still followed anyways.

I laughed. "You get what I meant Gray."

"Lu-chan didn't I tell you to hold back on people you just meet? That was rude!" Levy scolded.

"He was being rude too,how do you expect me to hold back on someone like that?" I questioned,looking at her stupidly.

Suddenly,I felt a hand cup mines. "Wha—" I turned my head to see none other than—Loke Celestial. The North's Champion. Was he just desperate or what?

"Why are you following me? And let go of my hand before I make you. I'm pretty sure you know from our previous encounter that I'm not playing." I added,glaring at him.

"She's not." Gray said. "I've got experience and a whole lot of history to back it up."

"Is this fellow here your boyfriend or something?" Loke asked,eying him with disgust.

"No,he's not."

Loke let go of my hand and shrugged his shoulders. "I just wanted to get your name. Can I have it please?" He asked me.

"Lu-chan already has someone she likes." Levy blurted out. Ugh,why is Levy's mouth so big?!

Loke glanced at her for a few seconds,and then back at me.

"So what do you think?" He asked. It looks to me like he just dodged the statement.

I eyed him suspiciously. "Why would the North's Champion be talking to me? Better yet,why would he even ask for my name?"

Loke lowered his eyelids as a smirk spread across his face. "Maybe it's because I'm interested—In you." He whispered,leaning in closer.

"Personal space,please." Gray grunted,putting a hand in between us and pushing Loke back further. It's a good thing he did that cause my way would not have been so gentle.

"I don't have to tell you anything. Now stay away from me,I'm trying to meet up with someone."

I started to walk away again,thankfully,he didn't follow.

"Bye Princess!" I heard him yell in the distance.

I scoffed.

"Dang,your like a natural boy magnet!" Levy exclaimed.

"Yeah right." I said sarcastically.

...

"Lucy! What took you so long?" Natsu asked as I stepped into the tent. He picked up his board and jogged up to me.

"Sorry,a lot of stuff happened so..." I glanced to the side,not being able to look into his eyes. Especially after what happened yesterday...

"Natsu?" Natsu looked up and a smile spread across his face.

"Gray!" He exclaimed,walking over to him. They did this weird handshake and bumped shoulders.

"How you doing these days,fire breath?"

Natsu laughed. "A lot better than you,icebox."

They started laughing and chatting and slapping each other and putting each other in head locks. Guess they really were pretty good friends.

I looked around while Natsu and Gray caught up with each other. It looked like this was the surfers' lounging area. People were doing stretches,some were chatting,and others were eating food or drinking bottles of water.

"...Lucy" I turned my head at the mention of my name.

"What about Lucy?" Natsu asked.

"I mean,how do you know her? I never would have thought she knew you!" Gray exclaimed.

Natsu sent me a glance,as if asking for permission. I nodded my head in his direction,giving him the okay. I mean what was the point of hiding it if they knew each other anyways?

Natsu turned back to Gray,who was looking abit perplexed at our silent agreement.

Natsu sighed. "Okay,Gray,this here is Lucy." He said pointing to me. I literally sweat dropped. Of course he knew who I was!

Gray's eyelids dropped as an annoyed expression crossed his face. "Of course I know that,she's one of my best friends. What,do you have ash for brains now?"

Natsu crossed his arms mimicking Gray's expression. "Of course not,Mr. Freezy Pants! Now let me finish my explanation!"

He heaved a sigh. "So,you know how I'm Natsu Dragneel right?"

Gray nodded.

"Well I'm also Natsu. Lucy's Natsu."

For some reason,I blushed at that comment. It almost sounded as if he were mine.

"Ya'll are goin' out?" Gray asked,lifting up an eyebrow and eyeing us.

"No!" I blurted out. I put my hands on my temples and rubbed them in circular motions.

"Listen,Gray," I started, "This is Natsu. The one I've been talking about! Remember,that pink-headed guy who went to the festival with us? You know,the one I introduced to everybody?"

His mouth made an "o" shape as a look of realization crossed his face.

"That was _you_ Natsu?" Gray yelled.

"Oh,that was _you_ Gray?!" A surprised expression was on Natsu's face. "I couldn't see that well in the dark,especially with my shades on so I didn't know it was you! And I thought Lucy just had a friend with the same name."

Gray looked down as he held his chin in thought. "So...Lucy's Natsu is actually Natsu Dragneel...well that actually makes since now." He muttered.

I nodded,and for some reason couldn't help but smile in triumph. "So now you know," I beamed proudly.

"I'm here to,in case you forgot." Levy deadplanned in an annoyed tone.

_**"All surfers grab your boards! It's time to catch some waves!"**_

An announcer beamed into a microphone. Natsu looked up as the man was talking. "Well,guess that's my cue."

We followed out behind him,preparing to watch the surfers compete. But why was there a huge stage over there?

_**"Weeeeeeeellll,its time for the Miss Mermaid Contest!"**_

The man boomed in an enthusiastic voice. Miss Mermaid?

_**"For those of you who don't know,all the pretty ladies get to compete for a chance to be crowned Miss Mermaid! *Drumroll sounds***********_

_**"The winner gets to give a sweet,passionate kiss to the winner of today's Surfing Tournament! So ladies,come on,and sign up to fulfill those fantasies I know you all have!"**_

Girls started to scream and holler. "I'm signing up! I'm definitely gonna kiss Natsu Dragneel!"

"No Loke is gonna win!"

"What about the other competitors?" I heard someone ask.

A hoard ran up to the yellow tent and crowded around the place with the sign up sheets.

I clenched my fists to my sides and a smirk spread across my face.

Oh,yeah. I'm definitely gonna compete. This is a job for the one and only Lucy Heartfilia.

I mean,who doesn't like a good competition?

I sent a glance over to Natsu,and we made eye contact. A smirk spread across his face,as did mine. A devious glint was in his eyes,and I knew we were both thinking the same thing.

_"May the best player win."_

* * *

_Authors Note:_

_Ok,ok,I know the last line could have been better,but cut me some slack,please. I couldn't really think of anything else. Anyways,hope the chapter was enjoyable and it pleased all you NaLu fans out there even a little!_

_Love you!_


	13. Strength,Skill,and Suprises

_Recap:_

_I sent a glance over to Natsu,and we made eye contact. A smirk spread across his face,as did mine. A devious glint was in his eyes,and I knew we were both thinking the same thing._

_"May the best player win."_

* * *

_A Surfers Love_

_Chapter 13_

"Levy!" I yelled,shaking her shoulders. "You have to join with me!"

She scrunched up her face. "Why would I,when I have Gajeel? I have no interest in kissing Natsu."

I sent her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about that,y'know I'm gonna win,I just don't want to go in by myself."

She crossed her arms. "Well sheesh,that sounds kinda rude...but I guess I'll join you."

I smiled widely as I started jumping up and down. "Yayyyyy!" I grabbed her hand as we ran over to the yellow tent.

"How are we gonna get up there if all these girls are crowding around it?" Levy asked

"Okay,you stay right here." I told her,"I'll find a way up there and get our names on one of those sheets."

She sweatdropped. "No violence please..." She said in a small voice. I sent her a thumbs up as I dashed into the crowd. I squeezed my way through people until I made it up to the front area. I scanned the row of sign up sheets,before I saw one that would be fairly easy to fill out.

I dashed to it as quickly as possible,and one girl was trying to scribble her name on there which was not working out so well for her with all the pushing and shoving being done.

"Scuse' me!" I yelled and I swiftly snatched the pen out her hand and jotted down our names on the paper. Suprisingly she did not try to take it back.

"Thanks!" I yelled as I sprung off. She was very pretty and nice. She had pretty white hair and ocean blue eyes.

"Le-vy...I did...I did it." I crouched over as I panted like a dog in front of her.

"That's good." She said nonchalantly. I kinda got irritated at her attitude. I thought she was here to support me? Aren't you suppose to do that with good spirit?

...

All of the contestants of the Miss Mermaid Contest lined up on the stage,while the speaker was in front of us.

I looked ahead a bit to see that the Surfing Competition had started. One surfer just flipped over into the water. I started laughing softly,and Levy shot me a look,so I stopped.

The announcer cleared her throat.

"Okay,ladies. These are the rules. In order to be crowned Miss Mermaid,the audience will decide. Each one of you will perform an act of your own preference,and whoever gets the most applause wins,got it?"

Everyone nodded their head.

"Okay,number 1,you are up first." I looked down at the number that had stapled onto my chest,to see that I was number twenty-one. Levy was twenty-two.

"The rest of you,go backstage and practice until it is your turn."

I heaved a sigh as I trudged over to the benches in the back. I sighed.

What kind of act could I do? I'm not really good at much...

"What are you doing,Levy?" I asked.

She looked up from her crouched position. "I'm gonna recite a poem."

I looked at her indifferently. She shrugged. "What? It's not like I'm trying to win anyways."

I let out another sigh. She did have a point. Why am I even thinking so hard for anyways?

Its not like I care if I win or not.I mean I do care...cause their's no way I could go down without a fight. I mean I do like competitions,but it seems like my determination from earlier is seeping away.

"Y'know,whoever wins this gets to kiss the winner of the surfing thingy,right?"

"Yeah..."I mumbled.

"And you know Natsu is gonna win right? Meaning—"

"Meaning that if I don't win,someone else will kiss him!" I exclaimed,my eyes widening in shock. I completely forgot about that part!

I looked down. I have to think of something,and quick!

* * *

"Next up,Number 21!"

I took a deep breath as I stepped out from behind the curtain. I was ready. I had decided what I was gonna do.

If Natsu was doing a test of stamina and skill,then I was gonna do a test of strength.

I stopped in my tracks as I looked over at the crowd of people,staring at me intently. But I was not nervous. My mom had made me be in enough plays when I was little.

"Contestant Number 21,please introduce yourself,and tell us what you will be doing today." The spokeslady asked bringing a microphone up to my face.

My eyes swept over the crowd till they landed on a head of pink,in the line of surfing contestants. It looked like he was the next runner up. He was looking my way.

Natsu was staring at me intently,and I felt a wave of courage pass over me as I smiled triumphantly.

I took the microphone out the lady's hand and beamed proudly,"My name is Lucy Heartfilia,17 years old. I am a female."

I heard a few people laugh and one person clap. Guess that joke was not as funny as I thought it'd be,y'know,since only females can participate.

"Today,I will be demonstrating a test of strength. To show you that not all girls are weak and fragile."

This got a lot of claps and cheers,mostly from the girls.

"Wow,a woman showing us how strong us ladies can be? This is a first! Please show us what you can do,Ms. Heartfilia." The spokes lady beamed.

I leaned over and whispered something in her ear,she nodded and walked off the stage.

"Please wait one second guys." I yelled over the crowd. "Okaaaayyy!" They yelled back.

Two guards rolled the two huge stones I had requested onto the stage. I smirked in satisfaction. They were just the right size.

The crowd oohed and awed. I hope they didn't think I was calling it a "test of strengths" for nothing.

I grabbed one with one of my arms and carefully heaved it up slowly. I did not want to drop it. Actually feeling it in my hands,I realized it weighed at least six bowling balls. This making the job at least three times harder.

I lifted it all the way off the ground with a loud 'oof'.

Sweat dripping off my forehead with determination,I got a firm hold on the next stone and slowly rolled it up my arm. This was even harder to do since my other arm was occupied.

I struggled to lift it all the way off the ground,and for some reason, I looked up. The crowd was staring in silence,but my eyes caught onto a figure moving. Although I could not hear him...I could see it. I could see Natsu jumping up and down and cupping his hands around his mouth.

I could see him cheering for me.

With a sudden burst of adrenaline I heaved the stone up in one swift motion and with one last cry to try to fight my sore muscles,

I lifted the stones above my head,one hand in hand.

With my arms starting to wiggle uncontrollably at the weight of the objects,I looked over at the crowd,to see all of their expressions were filled with shock,amazement,bewilderment. They were seeing something beyond belief. A girl. Lifting something as big and dense as these rocks,with pride and dignity.

It's was basically like I was holding 12 bowling balls up in the air,if you want to have a better picture of the heaviness of the rocks.

I heard one small clap,then another and another...before they roared with applause. People clapped and screamed and I even saw a few crying. My eyes strained for the head of pink hair,before I caught sight of it.

A wide smile was spread across his face,and his gesture was simple.

It was a thumbs up. Such a simple gesture as that made _even me_ feel like crying. I felt my heart swell up as it became hard to breath. This was something only Natsu could do. He was the only one who could make me cry,be it of happiness or sadness.

I dropped the stones down on the cushions they had set under me and slumped over as heavy breaths erupted from my lips.

I raised my head and smiled widely. I loved it. I loved the applause,I loved the cheers,and loved the kind and rewarding statements the people were shouting at me. I sent a thumbs up into the air,hoping it would reach Natsu.

"Thank you...Thank you everyone!" I yelled,wiping the sweat off that was threatening to drip into my eyes.

The lady ran out from behind the curtain excitedly,once the clapping had ceased.

"That was truly inspirational,Ms. Heartfilila. I truly thank you for it."

I smiled and slightly bowed. "It was no problem."

I waved contently to the crowd as I ran off the stage. Applause still showering the air.

I slumped onto the bench,as Levy stared at me with wide eyes.

"Wow...Lu-chan. That was really neat!" She exclaimed.

I grabbed a bottle of water as I chugged it down. "Thanks." I said wiping my mouth.

I looked up to see the other girl contestants staring at me,some were glaring,but they didn't say anything.

Ignoring the stares,I turned back to Levy. "I'll see you. I'm gonna go watch Natsu's turn."

She nodded her head as she walked out onto the stage. I sent her a thumbs up before I stood up,and ran towards the beach area.

...

"Go Natsu! You can do it!" I yelled as I watched him,start to ride up on a wave. His eyebrows were wrinkled in concentration,his chest was moving steadily...which showed how calm he was...how confident. I smiled as I stood there in silence,not wanting to interrupt him.

He carved the wave steadily as he rode up it. He reached for the tip of his board,steadily grabbing it and when the right moment came he rode up the wave and straight into the air—an Arial. He landed back into the water gracefully.

I started clapping furiously. "You go,Natsu!" I yelled again. That was pretty big to me,but it seemed like he was preparing for something even bigger.

"You better not lose,Flame freak!" I slightly jumped back to see Gray standing beside me. I forgot he was here!

"What are you looking at? Your supposed to be watching him not—

_**"This is astonishing! Dragneel has just done a 360 degree turn in mid air!" An enthusiastic voice rung.**_

My eyes darted back to Natsu as he carved the wave more,gaining speed. Before he flew up into the air. And what he did next,made my breath catch in my throat.

"One..." I murmured. "Two!" I whispered. My eyes getting bigger every second. "Three!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Natsu had just did three 360 degree turns in midair,and while surfing! I never even knew that was possible.

Everyone erupted in applause and cheers.

He landed back in the water with a load plop,before he dove into a barrel wave. Hidden from sight.

When he came out,he made a bottom turn,coming back to shore so steadily...so effortlessly...it's looked like even a baby could do it and arrive at shore unharmed.

He stepped off his board and walked onto the sand. Immediately,cameras started flashing around him,microphones being shoved into his face, and screaming girls trying to burst through the restrictions of his body gaurds.

Natsu put on a smile and answered every question..and took every picture.

I just noticed it was Loke Celestial's turn to surf,despite all of the commotion. I saw him paddle up through the water and he unsteadily stood on it. Everything was different. From Natsu. Natsu's aura reeked superiority,confidence. But Loke's was...weak and fragile.

He slowly went up the wave and before he could even start to carve it,it crashed down,knocking him off his board and into the water.

A whistle was blown and he slowly paddled back to shore,clearly disappointed he had fell before he even got to make a move. I guess,his determination was shot down as soon as Natsu hit that 360 turn.

Well,so much for the North's Champion.

A heard a chuckle from beside me. Why do I keep forgetting Gray is standing right here?

"The North must have some pretty suckish competitors,if _he's _the champion."

I lightly punched him on the arm. "Don't say that Gray. I'm pretty sure he would have done better if his determination had not been shot down like that."

Gray lifted an eyebrow. "Oh,so now your taking up for that womanizer?"

I pouted. "No,I just feel kinda sorry for him is all. I really believe his pride got shot down too."

Gray shrugged his shoulders,signaling he didn't care. "Your just like a coconut,Lucy."

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "A coconut?"

"Yeah. Your hard on the outside,but in the inside,your really just a whole bunch of soft mush."

I sweat dropped. "I'll just take that as a compliment..."

"Lucy!" My head turned towards the direction from which the voice was heard from.

"Natsu!" I yelled as I enveloped him in a congratulatory hug. I quickly pulled away though,seeing as he was making me soaking wet.

"That was awesome,Natsu! I have to admit you were a bit cool."

He looked down sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck. "Not really. What you did was amazing though. I didn't even know you were so strong. We have _got_ to battle one day!"

"Sure thing." I replied. Wait,battle? I did hear him right,right?

**_"Now its time to announce the winner of this summer's Surfing Competition, Mr. Mermaid,and Miss Mermaid!"_**

I started to jump not able to contain my excitement. I already knew me and Natsu had won!

_**"The man crowned Mr. Mermaid is..."**_

_**"Natsu Dragneel!"**_

The crowd erupted into more cheers,and Natsu looked down with a slight blush on his cheeks. "That's a pretty embarrassing title..." He mumbled. "I'm not sure if I should be happy or mad."

"Be happy!" I exclaimed giving him a pat on the shoulder. "You won!" He smiled back at me. And pumped his fists in the air.

"Your damn right I did!" He exclaimed. Finally feeling the weight of his victory.

A lady walked over to him and placed a crown on his head with a red center piece,and eight pillars of gold surrounding it,them all merging at the top. On the top was a small globe with a surfboard carefully mounted to it. The outside was decorated with what I assumed to be fake diamonds,rubies,and other jewels.

Natsu beamed brightly as he adjusted it onto his head,striking silly poses for the cameras,that I was sure were hidden in the crowd somewhere.

**_"And now for the announcement of Miss Mermaid!"_** The man yelled into the bull horn.

I sat there and waited for the name to be called. Go ahead and call it!

**_"And Miss Mermaid is..."_**

_Lucy~Lucy~Lucy~_,I chanted in my head.

_**"Laki Olietta!"**_

My mouth dropped open as I let out a gasp from shock. Laki? Who the hell is that?! Why didn't I win?!

Natsu looked at me just as shocked. "Lucy what happ-

"Natsu!" A purple haired girl wearing a crown yelled,diving into his arms. I'm guessing that's Laki.

"Who—" Natsu tried to say,

Before he could finish, she smashed her lips onto his. My jaw felt like it had dropped to the ground,as I stared in complete and utter disbelief.

I swear,_I swear_ I felt like my heart just stopped,and shattered into a million pieces.

Natsu was being kissed,_right in front of me._ My heart was desperately trying to rebuild itself,but it was a futile attempt.

Natsu's eyes widened,even wider than they were before as he tried to step away from the girl,but she held on tighter. I could do nothing. I was frozen in the spot. Camera's flashed,but it was like they werent even there. I could see nothing.

Nothing but Natsu's lips connecting with someone else's. Someone other than mines.

Natsu tried one more attempt to back away from her,before he forcefully pushed her away from him,sending her tumbling into the sand. She looked at him with pain,as tears filled her eyes. Although,a deep blush was one her face. It made me sick.

Natsu continued to stare back at her,an unreadable expression on his face.

But I did notice one thing...his face was beginning to pale.  
"No...I can't...don't...don't kiss me!" He yelled. Breathing heavily. He wiped his mouth off with a desperate attempt to rid himself of the feeling.

In one swift movement,he turned on his heels and ran.

"N-Natsu! Wait!" I yelled,before quickly following after.

* * *

Hehe. I know I you all were not expecting that! *snirks deviously* So were any on you surprised when you found out Lucy didn't win? Were you not expecting her to do that for her act in the competition? What's wrong with Natsu,I wonder? I would really like to know what you all thought in a review! Thanks guys.

Levy: People sure do run a lot in this story...

Natsu: I know right! Eternal made me like a sissy.

Lucy: Shut your trap,Natsu. She made me look like one too and you don't see me complaining.

Natsu: *Crosses his arms and pouts* Stop talking to me,Lucy or I'll start thinking you like me.

Lucy: No I don't,you jerk! *bonks him on head*

Natsu: Oww! Eternal,Lucy hit me! Make her pay on the next chapter!

Eternal: Stop fighting guys,it's stupid.

Natsu and Lucy: Your stupid!

Eternal: Stop both of you,or I'll make you fall off a cliff next chapter!

Natsu and Lucy: Hai!


	14. His Bento

Wahhh,so I just got lazy with the chapter name...anyways,enjoy the chappie!

* * *

"Natsu wait!" I yelled. As we ran further and further away. He didn't turn around to look at me. He didn't even attempt to slow down. He just kept running in full throttle.

We had been running for nearly ten minutes and I was starting to run out of breath. "N-Natsu!" I panted. "Please slow down!"

"Stop following me!" He yelled over the wind. "No! I yelled back. "Just stop!" By now,he had ran onto a stony part of the beach. A whole bunch of grayish black rocks and ledges were everywhere. Instead of the hot,warm sand,I was now on cold,hard rock.

After a bit,Natsu started to slow down,and I smiled,pulling off the rest of my power to catch up to him.

"Got cha'!" I yelled as I jumped on top of him,causing him to stop so he wouldn't go crashing into the ground.

Natsu tried to pry me off of him. "How long are you gonna hold on to me?" He asked,quite irritated. "Geez,you have already been following me for like the past twenty minutes."

I cautiously slid off him,pulling him down with me so that we were both sitting. He sat criss-crossed and placed both hands on his knees,facing away from me.

I stared at his bare back,and his fresh pink hair that was slightly matted to the nape of his neck.

"Why are you ignoring me?" I asked.

Silence.

I took my finger and ran it down the backbone line in the middle of his back. He immediately cringed,and let out a slight "eek".

I snickered,expecting him to turn around and holler at me,but no. Nothing.

My expression softened. "Can you please stop ignoring me,Natsu?" I asked in a small voice. "I don't remember doing anything bad to you."

He heaved a sigh before he turned around. I was slightly surprised.

His cheeks were a bright pink and his eyes held confusion. He had one hand attempting to cover the blush. I must admit it was kinda cute.

"Ah... why are you uh...blushing?" I asked

"Cause'...I'm embarrassed." He mumbled.

"For what?"

"Cause of that huge outburst I had back there. And then I ran away like some kind of coward." He looked down,and his bangs covered his face. "Why do my kisses never turn out right? I hate that."

"Your uh,kisses?" I asked,not sure if I had heard him right.

"Yes!" He exclaimed,slightly shocking me. "First..." He paused and looked to his side. "Well,I can't tell you about that one."

He can't tell me? And wait,he kissed someone else? Why was I just now hearing about this?

"Anyways,next was you." he muttered. "I swear it was just a spark of the moment. I wouldn't have done it if I wasnt feeling so many confusing emotions,Lucy. I swear." He looked into my eyes as if he was confirming my forgiveness.

"I already told you it was alright Natsu."

But I must admit,that hurt a little. To hear it was just a 'spark of the moment'.

"And then last was that girl Laki. I mean,seriously? I know she might like me and all,but was there really a need to just pounce on me? And attack my freaking face?" He slightly shuddered. "And what made it even worse was..." He stopped as he took a shuddery breath.

"Was what?" I asked.

He cleared his throat. "Sheksmdmskmdkiss"

He said it so fast and so quietly I couldn't understand what he had said.

"A bit clearer please?"

He took both of his hands and covered his face,I could only guess he was blushing,since he did that notion quite a bit.

"She...she tried to uh...tongue kiss." He whispered. I blinked back surprise as I could do nothing but stare.

He took his hand and ran it through his hair. "I mean...that's never happened to me before and I've never done it. And I sure didn't want some girl I had just met to take my first experience away from me."

I felt my face begin to heat. Was Natsu really a romantic?

I mean,just hypothetically speaking here,I wonder if he would have pushed me away? I tried to build up the courage to ask him,but worse case scenarios were the only things popping into my head.

"I feel like such as sissy for running away."He said.

I slightly shook my head,ridding myself of the thoughts,and decided to give him some good advice like any friend should do.

"Natsu,anyone would do that if they were in your situation. I mean if someone just jumped on top of me and kissed me,I would probably punch them. But since your the sweet guy you are,I'm pretty sure you didn't want to hurt her. Anyone would be mad if someone forced a kiss on them. Anyone would run if they're embarrassed or nervous.

"Your not the bad guy,Natsu." I reassured him,smiling.

"Yeah,guess your right,Lucy. I mean I am human after all."

I nodded my head,leaning towards him and stretching out my arms...to touch his crown.

"And look,this is proof of your victory,of your hard work. Your now our Mermaid Prince! Take pride in it."

He gently pushed my arms away from his crown,chuckling.

"Stop that. You know me being called me a "Mermaid Prince" or "Mr. Mermaid" is embarrassing."

I chuckled. "But your my Mermaid Prince!" I yelled laughing. He raised an eyebrow. "Yours huh?"

I quickly got up and started running and he followed behind me. "I'm not yours!" He yelled. "This is a free country!"

I ran around laughing. "Okay,Mr. Mermaid!"

Knowing he would catch up sooner or later,I purposefully stopped and he crashed into me and went sailing through the air towards the ground.

At some point,he wrapped his arms around me and switched our positions so that he was on the bottom,taking the impact of the fall. We landed with a loud "thud."

I tried to catch my breath,not wanting to get up. His hard chest felt so good pressed up against my face. I was slowly starting to get used to seeing his muscles. I relaxed a bit more on his chest,to hear that his heart was beating rapidly,and then I remembered that we had just fallen.

I shot up to see if he was alright. To my utter horror,his eyes were closed,and they were scrunched in pain.

"Natsu...Natsu! Wake up!" I yelled,lightly slapping his face. A small moan escaped his lips as I saw his eyes peak open.

He groaned as he propped himself up on on his elbows.

"Shit,that hurt." he grunted.

I let out a sigh of relief,hugging him closely to my body. My nose was buried into his neck and I could smell the familiar scent of sea salt and cinnamon.

"Oh,God! I'm so glad your okay. I didn't know what happened to you!" I clutched onto his neck tighter. I was so scared that he had bumped his head or something.

He returned the hug,clutching onto my shirt. "Lucy,I'm alright. I'm fine. There's no need to be so worried."

"Yes it is!" I protested. "It was my fault it happened,and if something would have happened to you..." I trailed off,not knowing how to end the sentence.

He rested his head on my shoulder. "I told you I'm alright,Lucy. It was nothing major." he reassured me,his hair tickling the side of my face.

We sat there like that for a few moments. I don't know why Natsu didn't try to pull away.

"Say,Lucy. Did you make that bento you promised?" He lifted up his head and looked me in the eyes.

I quickly turned away. His gaze was burning holes through me.

"Yeah,I did." I crawled over to the rock where I had placed my bag and my basket filled with his bento.

I pulled out the red and white checkered sheet and sprawled it across the rock. Then I picked up the basket,and set the contents onto plates and then put them on the sheets.

I saw Natsu's mouth begin to water. I stared at him,then down at the food. "I made enough for both of us so...Itadakimasu!"

"Itadakimasu!" Natsu repeated,grabbing off a sandwich and one of my fried octopus.

He took a bite of of the sandwich and then stuffed two or three octupi into his mouth. He continued to stuff his face,with a content look.

I looked at him expectantly. "How is it?" I asked.

"It's...delicious!" He exclaimed continuing to stuff his face. Reaching for one thing after another. I managed to grab me off a small chicken breast and I nibbled on it while he dived in like a wolf.

I couldn't help but smile. At least my hard work paid off.

He suddenly stopped eating. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Why is there...only one omelet?"

"Oh,well someone took the other two I had made."

"Ah,well that's a shame." He grabbed the omelet off the plate and stuffed it in his pocket. "In that case,I'll treasure it. It must be the only one left cause it's special."

I blushed and looked down. Although I think...he was complementing the omelet? I don't know.

He leaned back and let out a content sigh,rubbing his stomach.

"Ah,that hit the spot." He scooted over to the edge of the rocky ledge,where the waves crashed down beneath.

"Uh,Natsu? I don't think you should be sitting there..."

He patted the spot beside him. "Its safe. Come sit next to me."

I cautiously scooted closer till I was sitting right beside him. Both of our legs were hanging off the ledge,swinging lazily in the wind.

"Thanks,Lucy." Natsu said softly.

"For what?"

"For I don't know,just doing what you do. Just being you."

"Thanks,I guess."

"Hey." He started.

"Hmm?" I answered back.

"I think it's about time I told you...who I like."


	15. My Crazy,Hazy, Rollercoaster Ride

_"Hey." Natsu started._

_"Hmm?" I hummed in response._

_"I think it's about time I told you...who I like."_

_..._

_A Surfers Love_

_Chapter 15_

"Who you...like?" I asked.

He bought his knees up to his chest,and encased his arms around them. "Yeah,who I like."

I continued to stare at him,and eventually he turned his head towards me and stared also. With the sunset's warm light,shone over him,his eyes looked orange. A pretty,vibrant orangish-yellow.

He pressed his lips into a thin line as he continued to stare at me,and I had just noticed how intently I was staring at him. I felt my cheeks begin to warm but I didn't break the contact.

"So are you gonna tell me who it is?" I asked him.

He finally broke the contact,and turned away to look at the horizon. A warm gust of wind blew beautifully through his pink locks of hair.

"Do you promise not to laugh?" He asked.

I closed my mouth shut tightly,as I slowly nodded my head.

I felt my heartbeat quicken.

"Do you promise not to tease,or make fun of my choice?"

"Yes."

My hands began to get clammy.

"Do you promise that no matter who it is,or how close they may be to you,you and my's friendship won't break or falter?"

I slowly bit on my lip,tucking it in under my teeth.

"...I...don't...kn...yes." I finally muttered,reluctantly. I mean who knows? He could like Levy. And if he did,I don't know if I would be able to look either of them in the eye.

He turned his body towards mine and stared into my eyes. His gaze was so...intense. He sighed.

"This is...the last promise." He looked to his side and then turned back to me,fiddling with his fingers.

"No matter what I say,or who it may be, will you agree...to support me all the way?" He looked at me,eyes full of hope.

What was up with all these promises,anyways? Does he so desperately need my approval?

I turned away from his gaze,feeling guilty. I started to pull on a strand of my blonde hair as I searched desperately for an answer. If I said yes,I would be lying.

"Probably,but I can't guarantee it." I concluded,telling him.

He chuckled. "Well,I guess I was kinda expecting that answer anyways."

We stayed silent for a while longer. I was really getting tired off all the suspention he was putting me through. It was just like watching a game show,and never finding out who won.

He was nervously biting on his lip,as if debating on whether to tell me or not. It was the same. Always the same. Whenever he talks about his crush,he always gets like this—nervous,fidgety. It's like his whole personality changes. Maybe I would like this change more if I knew that the mystery girl was me.

"Natsu...you don't have to tell me if you can't." I whispered,sighing. Although I desperately wanted to know,this was getting us nowhere.

He shook his head. "No! I want to tell you. It's just that...I don't know where to start..."

He put my finger on my chin and thought. "How about you say this—" I paused to make sure he was listening,then continued.

"The girl I like is..."

He took in a deep breath,then let it out with a woosh of hair. "Okay." He said,wiping his palms off on his swimming trunks. Why was he so nervous,anyways? It was making me nervous. I was starting to fidget and move around subconsciously.

"The girl I like is..." He started.

He paused and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's L—"

For some reason,his voice was starting to get farther and farther away and so was he. Wind was batting through my hair and over my body.

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled. And I realized,I was falling. Falling off the small cliff me and Natsu were sitting on.

And before I could react,cold,blue liquid submerged me,encasing my whole body.

My body racked with pain,from hitting the oceans water so roughly. What made it worse was that I didnt even know how to swim. I kicked and sputtered as I looked around for some kind of ledging to grab onto. My eyes were beginning to burn as the salty water got in them and it was becoming harder to breath. My lungs were begging for air.

"Lucy! I'm...I'm coming!" I heard Natsu voice,it seemed like he was getting closer. He must have jumped in to save me.

With one last attempt to breach the surface,I made a wild kick and must have hit a rock beneath the water. Pain shot through my leg,as my muscles gave up on the fight. Before long,the darkness encased me.

The last thing I remember were strong hands wrapping around me,saving me from the death that awaited me beneath these waters.

* * *

_Darkness. That was all that I could see. All that I could feel._

_It was a very cold and dark place,a place where I was obviously not welcomed._

_Water. So much **water**. I could feel cold,bonny,fingers wrapping around my throat as I struggled to breath._

_I look around. Blue everywhere. A dark,pitch blue. My eyes dart around frantically. All that clouds my vision is more __blue. Blue. Blue. Bubbles. Blue. Air! Air! I need air!  
_

_I was trying desperately to pry my way to the surface,to the light. My fingers had barely grazed it—_

_Then darkness. I was now surrounded in darkness. As dark as tar. Just as I was about to escape. I was so close to **escaping**. _

_But the darkness has consumed me once more._

_ And I realized—This must be the **it**. My fate. My destiny. There is no light. There is no safe haven._

_There is no Natsu._

_Suffocating,paralyzingly, this world with no light. No souls,no spirits. No happiness,no joy,_

_No love._

_But for some reason,I could faintly feel something—warmth. In this darkness in which I thought warmth was just a trick of the imagination,I felt it— I felt the warmth that I knew so well._

_And have become so fond of._

OoooOoooO

My body racked with pain as I coughed up water that had been trapped inside my throat. The hot,wetness,trickled down my chin and onto my shirt.

I propped myself up my elbows as I let out deep,heavy,and ragged breaths. What happened? And why did I feel this fuzzy sensation on my lips?

I groggily looked around,before my eyes trained on the figure beside me. His back was turned to me,so I couldn't see his face.

"N-Natsu?" My voice came out hoarse,and cracked.

He quickly wiped his eyes with his fist and turned around to face me. I noticed his eyes were a pinkish red color.

Was he...crying?

"W-What h-happened?" I struggled to get the words out.

He looked down. "You...fell into the ocean."

"How?"

He looked at me. "I-I don't...it all happened so fast. One moment you were sitting there,and then the next moment you were gone. And then I saw that the rock you sitting on had broke off,and I looked over the edge and you were falling and it's like my body reacted on its own! I jumped in there after you,and all that I could see was you...drowning. Seeing you struggling and sputtering like that... I tried to get to you as fast as I could. And then...and then when you disappeared under the water I got so scared...I was so scared that you might not have made it." He said it so fast and his words were so jumbled I could barely understand him.

He balled his hands up into tight fist,and it looked like he was beating himself up on the inside. I laid a weary hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you,Natsu. So,so much. Thank you for saving me. If it wasn't for you...I wouldn't be here right now. So don't beat yourself up about it,cause your...your my hero." I finished with a light blush.

He looked at me and it looked like he was about to start crying all over again. To be honest,it made me feel very happy that he cared this much about me. That he would be sad if I ever were to leave.

"Even though that was pretty cheesy,it definitely made me feel better." Natsu said with a chuckle. A small smile grazed my lips.

"I was scared,Natsu. I thought it was over for me." I looked down sadly. "I had a nightmare. And I feared that that was what the rest of my eternity was gonna be like. I thought I was dead. It was dark,and cold. There was nothing that I could hold onto to act as my lifeline...and worst of all,I was all alone. There was no one with me."

I clutched onto my shirt as I thought about the terrifying loneliness I felt at that time.

"I'm here with you,Lucy. Your not gonna be alone as long as I'm here." Natsu reassured,sending me a soft smile. I smiled back.

I finally took notice of my surroundings. "Where are we?" I asked.

Natsu looked around also. "I think it's a cave that was in the side of the cliff.

I giggled. "Your not even sure of where we are?"

He laughed also. "I was kinda in a panic so...rather be safe than sorry."

We both stopped laughing,noticing the thick atmosphere that statement had bought into the air.

Not liking the silence,I slowly got up. I felt pain course threw my leg,and I looked down to see the cause of it.

There was a long slash mark across my ankle. I would say about 3 inches long. It was nothing major,but it definitely hurt. I winced as I stood up tall and straight,walking around to test it out.

Oh,yeah. It definitely hurt. But I could probably walk out the pain. Y'know,tough it out.

"Does your leg hurt?" Natsu asked. "You've got a slight limp."

I waved my hand,signaling to him that it was okay. "I'm fine. It's just hurts a little."

"If you say so." He got up,and walked towards the front of the cave. I just noticed that the sun had set and if it wasn't for the moon and the stars littering the sky,it would be pitch black.

"It's pretty dark out. Let's get some rest,and we'll find a way back to the top in the morning."

I nodded my head. "Your right. It would be to dangerous to try to travel this way. Besides,I'm exhausted." To many events had happened in one day. Especially my near death experience.

"Me too." He walked over to the side of the cave and got a big rock and propped it up. He laid down and rested his head on the rock,folding his hands together and closing his eyes.

I looked at him with a perplexed expression. "Are you really going to sleep like that?"

He peaked one eye open. "What? You've never slept on a rock before? I used to do it all the time back in the day."

I sweat dropped. "Well,if you wake up with your neck hurting,its not gonna be my fault."

He closed his eyes as he let out a deep sigh. "It'll be completely my fault. I mean,it was my decision."

"Okay..." I mumbled. I walked over to the other side of the cave and laid on the cold,hard floor. It was not the most comfortable thing in the world.

I used my hands as a pillow,and tried to snuggle up as much as I could. I closed my eyes,beginning to think of the roller coaster I had been on today.

"Lucy?" I heard Natsu's voice whisper.

"Hmm?" I hummed,my voice coming out sleepier than I wanted it to.

"Goodnight."

I smiled. "Goodnight,Natsu."

* * *

The Next Day

We had been walking for about an hour now,on a small pathway at the bottom of the cliff. It was becoming more difficult for me to walk,and I think my pain was becoming more noticeable.

Natsu was walking beside me,and we were trying to find a way back up to the top of the cliff. So far,there was no luck.

Natsu had his hand on his chin and was looking around for any way of escape.

I was starting to lag behind,and he was starting to get further and further away from me. I tried to pick up my pace,but each time I did,my ankle hurt even more than it did before.

In the midst of me trying to gain speed,somehow I slipped on my own footing and fell. I managed to avoid hitting my face,by propping up my knees and elbows.

I let out a slight yell as my face scrunched up. Damn,that hurt. Especially since those places have the least amount of skin.

"Lucy,are you all right?" I turned my head up to see Natsu running towards me. He crouched down in front of me with a worried expression.

I scoffed. "Does it look like I'm alright?" That came out a bit meaner than I expected it to.

He crossed his arms and huffed. "Well,since it _does_ looks like your alright,then I guess you are." He got back up and started to walk away.

He stared after him in disbelief. He can clearly see I'm in pain,and yet now he wants to act stubborn?

"Natsu,wait please." I said in a strained voice as I started to get up. He halted in his steps and turned around.

"What?"

"My leg is just kinda hurting,so could you just walk abit slower?"

He stared at me for a second,and then crouched down. I stared at him with a confused expression.

He sighed. "What are you just standing there for? Get on."

I blushed as I started shaking my head furiously. "No! I'm fine. And besides,I'm to heavy anyways."

"Lucy,didn't I tell you that I work out? I lift one hundred pound weights on both my legs and my arms. One for each. Do you know how much weight that equals at a time?"

"Umm...400?" I answered.

He nodded his head. "Correct."

"And I'm pretty sure you don't weigh 400 pounds,so picking you up would be like picking up a feather for me."

I looked down as I rubbed my arm. If I got on his back,I would be showing a sign of weakness. I hate that. I had already shown enough when he had to save me cause I couldn't even swim.

"But I'm not weak,Natsu...I can walk on my own."

He ruffled his hair as he let out yet another,frustrated sigh. "Lucy,your not weak. On the inside or the outside. If your hurt,just let me help you!"

He walked closer to me so he was right in front,and then crouched down.

"Now hop on."

I stared at him in silence. Seeing as I wasn't doing anything,he attempted once more to persuade me.

"How many times do I have to constantly remind you? When I do things it's because I _want_ to do them. Not because I'm being forced to."

"But Natsu..." I whispered,still holding my ground.

"Please,Lucy?" He asked in a desperate voice. "I can't stand to see you hurt. Especially when your forcing yourself and only making the pain worse."

I bit my lip as I stared at his still crouched position. I hesitated for a bit,before I climbed onto his back. He locked his arms around my legs and then stood up. I could tell he was smiling,by the way his cheeks rose.

"Hold on tight."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and then tried my best to lighten my weight for him. I didn't want to seem like a burden. I didn't care if he could lift 400 pounds or not.

He started walking and I stood as stiff as possible as I scanned the area for any signs of inclined I couldn't focus much. Just hearing the oceans waves crash against the rock made me sick. It bought back unpleasant memories,and I could almost taste the saltiness in my mouth,slowly suffocating me.

Natsu suddenly stopped and I was bought back to reality. "Lucy,relax."

I tensed up at his sudden statement. "Relax. Just relax." He repeated. "I told you I can do this. I can carry you. I'm not weak either,so don't treat me like I am."

He must have been saying that since I was slightly lifted off his back,trying my best not to throw my full weight on him.

"Sorry." I mumbled. I slightly relaxed onto his back,and as he continued walking,I felt that I had relaxed my whole body. My ears attuned to his steady heartbeat.

This was pleasant. His body was emitting so much warmth. And he naturally gave off a sweet and salty scent. It was intoxicating.

I cautiously unlatched arm from around his neck as I started to play with the small curls that were on his nape.

He slightly tensed,but didn't say anything. I giggled at how cute this was. The curls on his neck were so cute and soft. It was funny because the rest of his hair was straight and spiky.

"It's so adorable that you still have baby hair back here." I whispered,my breath fanning over his neck. I saw goosebumps appear and his body temperature got just a bit warmer.

"Don't talk about those..." He mumbled. I could tell he was embarrassed.

"Why? You don't like them? I swear they make you a whole bunch cuter."

"That's exactly why. But I'm glad it's only a small part of my head. Cause then everyone would laugh. It seems...your the only one who's noticed them."

"Only me?" I asked.

"Yeah. After all,your the only girl who's ever been this close to my neck."

That statement made me feel just a tad bit special. Okay,I'm lying. Maybe a lot.

"Hey! I think I see something up ahead!" He started running ahead further till he reached it. There was a rope hanging off of the top of the ledge.

He crouched down,and I warily got off his back. "Wait for a sec."

He took both of his hands and tugged on the bottom to see if it was sturdy. He pulled and pulled,but it never came down.

"I'm gonna go up,first. Just to make sure it's safe. Do you think you could make it up yourself?"

I nodded my head. "I'm pretty sure I could. It doesn't hurt as much now."

"Okay."

With a slow grunt,he hoisted himself up on the rope,and slowly climbed his way up. It took him about a minute to reach the top. Then he disappeared from sight. After a minute or two,he reappeared.

"Hey! This is the spot where we had our picnic at! All our stuff is still here!" He yelled over the ledge. I smiled. That made things a lot easier.

"Okay! I'm getting ready to come up!" I yelled

"Be careful!" He yelled back.

I grabbed onto the rope and hoisted myself up. It hurt my leg only a bit,not as much as I expected it would. I slowly made my way up to the top and right when I was about to reach the top,my footing slid from beneath my feet and I closed my eyes,preparing for the fall.

Instead,I was held in place and a warm hand cupped mines. I peaked an eye open to see,Natsu had caught me.

"Phew. That was a close one." He breathed,before he hauled me up.

I gave a quick thanks and crawled over to my things. I packed away my checkered red sheet and my basket.

I stood up and Natsu walked over to me. "You want me to continue carrying you? Is your leg still hurting?"

I shook my head. "No,you've already done enough for me. I would feel bad if I kept getting help from you."

I started to walk ahead,remembering the way we came. Natsu quickly followed behind. Now,for the thirty minute walk to the beach.

Although their were many bad experiences in this whole little journey,I feel that the good ones outweighed them.

I stopped in my tracks as one thought grazed my mind. I nearly dropped my basket and bag. I slowly blinked,trying to process something. Something _very _important.

Who did Natsu say he liked?

* * *

_So...this chapter was pretty much up and down,right? I know,I packed a whole bunch of stuff in one! It was actually really fun to write. So I hope you had fun reading!_


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